


Fading

by LizzeXX



Series: The Heart of Time Saga [4]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, Developing Relationship, Donna Noble is Supertemp, Drama, Embedded Images, Flirting, Fluff, Friendship, Gallifrey, Healing, Hopeful ending?, Hurt/Comfort, Illness, Like I've made myself cry in some chapters angst, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Psychic Abilities, Really so much angst, Recovery, Romance, Sad ending?, Series 4 rewrite, Suffering, Super sweet Time Lady, Telepathy, Temporary Character Death, The Doctor is not Alone, The Heart of Time Saga, The Last Great Time War, The Master isn't done tormenting the Doctor, The bees are disappearing, Thella - Freeform, Things go downhill, Time Lord Mating Process, Time Travel, Time Vortex, Torchwood - Freeform, Torchwood Crossover, Vortex Powers, bittersweet fluff, doctor who - Freeform, space travel, time lady - Freeform, visionary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:40:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 48
Words: 261,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28842516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzeXX/pseuds/LizzeXX
Summary: The Doctor and Angel survived the Valiant and are happy to be alive. But not all is as it seems and nothing can last forever. What's in store when they run into Donna Noble again? How will the Doctor react to what's coming for him and Angel as they try to finish Mating? A bigger question...will Angel even survive the Crucible?10/OCTime Lady
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Original Female Character(s), The Doctor (Doctor Who) & Donna Noble, The Doctor (Doctor Who) & Original Female Character(s), The Doctor/The Angel, Thella - Relationship, Theta/Nella
Series: The Heart of Time Saga [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2086098
Kudos: 8





	1. Voyage of the Damned: The Titanic

**Author's Note:**

> I have been plagiarized many times since I began writing fanfiction :( So please, do not copy my work onto other sites. And if you see my work, whether in full or tweaked or mish-mashed into other people's works, reach out to me on tumblr (LizzeXX) and let me know so I can look into it, post evidence on my tumblr's 'Plagiarizers' page, and ask for help reporting when it happens :(
> 
> I have seen it all by now. From people flat out copying everything and just pasting it as is, to changing the OC's name or from 3rd to 1st person, to alternating parts of their own work with putting in parts of mine, to starting off originally and then transitioning to my work, to using Proffy for 1 story then switching to Evy in their next, to people literally taking chunks from 5 different series and piecing it together into a story, so please, PLEASE, let me know if you see it happening. I am nervous enough posting this on AO3 or any other site, it is reassuring to me if people can keep an eye out and just let me know if you see anything happening :(

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallo! Welcome to the fourth installment of my third(!) OC series, the Heart of Time Saga, Fading. I recommend new readers check out the first three stories of the saga (A Treasured Discovery, Meeting of the Minds, and Hearts to Hearts) to really understand who my OC is, her unique abilities, and where she is in her relationship with the Doctor. This will be a Doctor/OC series, (the pairing title officially voted as Thella!) featuring my OC The Angel, AKA the Time Lady Nella, a woman with quite a few gifts she's only just starting to explore.
> 
> Quick physical description: Angel, currently on her 10th incarnation, is a tall woman with long, brilliant red hair that she tends to wear in a braid that hangs over her shoulder and warm, chocolate brown eyes with specks of gold in them that the Doctor loves referring to as 'dark hot chocolate with golden sprinkles.' She tends to wear dark blue (-cough- TARDIS blue -cough-) jeans tucked into brown boots with a white, long sleeved, knit top, that folds down on the top to be off the shoulder. However she does love dressing up in period style clothing for trips like that. I see her as looking something like Elena Satine with a theme song of Eternal Love by Future World Music.
> 
> Every chapter (except 'mini-sode' chapters) will be at the very least 4,000 words. I have been making it to about 5,000 so far but there may be a few that fall to 4,000 depending on how much I liked that episode (just so you have fair warning). Every episode will be broken up into three chapters that has a special title to it. The holiday specials however will be posted in 5 chapters since they are quite a bit longer. This story will be about 48 chapters long :) 
> 
> One more quick announcement...I have often found myself disappointed by how little the old companions of New Who were included in each new series. So, taking that into my own hands, we'll be getting a lot more of them, whether mentions of them or actually meeting them. In fact...I'm planning for all of them to show up at least once per series in some way (except Rose, sort of hard to do with a parallel world and possibly Donna, depends how Journey's End goes...) :) For instance, this story of the saga will have a Torchwood-crossover chapter! We're gonna get more of Jack! Readers may recall that Jack has become like an older brother to my OC Angel, and she NEEDS to meet Ianto doesn't she? I won't say when it's coming or what episode of Torchwood it will fall on, but we WILL get it :)
> 
> ~8~ is a scene break
> 
> 'italics' is telepathic communication between the Doctor and Angel
> 
> '...words...' or ...action... is Angel hearing/seeing the future
> 
> Disclaimer 1: I do not own Doctor Who...though I secretly think I share a brain with the writers (-cough- the Professor/Gunslinger -cough-)
> 
> Disclaimer 2: My OC is in no way associated with any DW stories that might also have a Time Lady named The Angel.
> 
> Enjoy!

The Doctor and Angel ran to the console, quickly hitting various controls, watching as the walls of the TARDIS closed, pushing the ship out. They then got to work materializing the TARDIS inside the ship. The Doctor stepped out and looked around at the small space they'd landed in, a supply closet, before holding the door open for Angel to step out first, ever the gentleman. They headed out of the room and into a wood paneled one, decorated with potted palms and Christmas decorations, a reception area it seemed. People garbed in early 20th century dress milled around as waiters passed hor d'ouveres and champagne around. A band in another room was playing a slow version of Jingle Bells. The Doctor walked over to two golden angels in white when they twitched mechanically, robots.

"I hate robots," Angel remarked as she eyed them, now wary of wherever they were, "They're always trying to kill us."

The only robot she liked was K9, because he was just adorable. Looking at the robots now...they made her shiver, she didn't like them. They reminded her of how she'd felt as Angela Smith, when she and the Doctor had been before the scarecrow as he fixed it. She'd just _known_ there was something wrong with the scarecrows even as a human and this was no different. Those robots...they weren't good. They weren't right. And she didn't like them.

The Doctor reached out, sensing her unease, and took her hand, lifting it in both of his to press a kiss to the back of it, pulling her attention away from the robots and back to him. Really though, all he had to do was look at her and her attention would wander to him, as it often did. She was always aware of when he was around her, when he was near, when he was looking at her. She smiled up at him as he smiled back at her, there was a...sparkle in his eye, another one, a different one than the one she normally saw. THAT sparkle was still there, it always was, whenever he looked at her, but there was another one there too...she just...didn't know what it was for though.

"Come on," he tugged her hand, walking with her over to a window, both of them peering out at the Earth below.

"Attention all passengers," the speakers called, "The _Titanic_ is now in orbit above Sol 3, also known as Earth. Population: Human. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Christmas."

Angel blinked, "It's Christmas again," she breathed, not too sure how she felt about that.

It was supposed to be such a joyous holiday, full of love and light and peace...but the last few Christmases she'd had...had been quite the opposite. Full of danger and anger and pain...not at all like it should be. And, though she hated to admit it as it was such a favored holiday for so many...she'd begun to find herself disliking the holiday. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with it in general...it was just...terrible things tended to happen to her on Christmas...much like terrible things always happened when she set foot in a hospital.

Which made her frown, that feeling inside her, that her next companion might be a nurse, well...how would _that_ work? How would she even _find_ a companion who was a nurse if, everytime she entered a hospital, things went wrong? She might reach the point where she refused to enter one just because of that fact and _then_ where would she be? She'd have missed the opportunity to have another amazing companion.

She supposed she'd just have to 'suck it up' as the humans would say. Bear with it all, go into as many hospitals as they encountered over their travels till she found her next companion. She couldn't wait though! Mickey was so special to her, so important, and he'd grown into such a strong man which, she liked to think, might have had something to do with her friendship. She hoped to one day be able to do the same for another person, help them grow into a strong individual, a better individual, show them just how special they were.

She liked the idea of doing that.

"I know!" the Doctor cheered, "Isn't it brilliant!?"

"I suppose," she murmured, though her tone and the feelings rolling off her alerted him to the fact that, to her, it might not be quite as brilliant as to him.

He looked at her, knowing where her thoughts had gone, to Rose, to Donna, to everything that happened the last two Christmases. And he nodded to himself, this one would be different, he'd make it different. He was going to give Angel the best Christmas ever! Oh yes he was!

"Come on," he turned to lead her off, "I've got a surprise for you."

"What?" she smiled up at him.

He just grinned, "This time...we're BOTH gonna dress up."

She laughed, starting to run, pulling HIM along now. It wasn't often he offered to leave his trusty brown suit behind and she jumped at any chance she got to see him in a different outfit.

~8~

On the bridge the crew, in period uniform, with a mix of different period tech around them, were just working the controls, "Nice and steady," the captain called, "Good work, Mr. Cavill," he patted another man on the back, "And maintain position. Now then, gentlemen, according to the traditions of the planet below, Christmas is a time of celebration. I think you might be entitled to a tot of rum. Just the _one_. Off you go. I'll keep watch."

"Sir," Cavill saluted and walked out with a few other members. One man paused, before closing the door and facing the captain, remaining in the room.

"And you, what was it?"

"Midshipman Frame, sir," he introduced, "Only just qualified, sir. First trip out."

"Then you can stand down, Midshipman."

"Uh, but, uh...regulations say the bridge has to be staffed by _two_ crewmembers at any one time, sir."

"Well said," the captain nodded, smiling, seemingly impressed, "Very good," Frame smiled at the praise and walked over to a bank of instruments, "It should be nice and quiet. It's only a Level 5 planet down below. They don't even know we're here. 'Silent Night,' I believe they call it," the captain's smile slowly faded, "A silent night."

~8~

"Max Capricorn Cruise Liners, the fastest, the farthest, the _best_ ," a bald man with a horrendously laughable mustache smiled at the camera, "And I should know, because my name is _Max_ ," he grinned and his golden tooth glinted before the screen returned to the cruise logo.

The Doctor looked over at Angel who was wearing an ivory colored, silk, 3/4 sleeved, floor length dress with a golden mesh over it, high waisted, with a golden bow tying in the back, her hair in its usual plait. She was truly a sight to behold, beautiful, and the colors, the white and the gold made her look every bit the angel he knew she was. The whole image would be complete if only she had wings and a halo, though he doubted anyone who met her wouldn't agree that she really was an angel incarnate.

"How do I look?" he asked her, fixing his tie.

"Oh not that suit again," she mock-moaned, when he'd said they'd both dress up, she had been hoping to see him in something other than the black suit. Anything but the black suit would have been just fine for her, "And the bowtie," she sighed, shaking her head before fixing his tie completely, "You'd best hope we don't get stuck under any mistletoe," she pointed out.

He pouted, "You wouldn't kiss me just because I'm wearing a bowtie?"

She smiled, kissing his cheek, "I didn't say THAT," she laughed, "It'll just be harder to tug you down to kiss you."

He smiled, reaching out to brush a lock of hair behind her ears as she moved to do it herself, taking her hand in the process, "You don't have to tug me down, you know. You _really_ don't," he leaned in and kissed her softly, "I would kiss you willingly _every single second_ for the rest of my lives," he kissed her again, deeper, leaving her quite breathless when they parted, her cheeks a bit pink as well, "You just have to look at me and I'd lean in to kiss you myself."

"I know," she whispered, resting her forehead to his, "But it's fun to be able to tug you, makes me feel special, like I've got a tiny bit of power over you."

"You have _complete_ power over me," he told her, meaning it as he pressed the back of her hand to the center of his chest, letting her feel his hearts beating, "I _live_ for you Nella," he breathed, staring into her eyes so she could see the truth in them, feel the promise in his words, "Everything I do, is for you. Anything you want, I'll get you. Anything you want me to do, I'll do it, no matter what. I think I proved that on the _Valiant_ ," he reminded her gently, recalling the promise she'd made him make, "I'm yours, mind, body, and soul, completely and utterly _yours_."

She let out a breath, feeling herself shivering at his words, seeing him staring into her eyes, into her soul, feeling his true devotion to her coursing through her. He really _meant_ it, every single word, not just with his mind but with his hearts as well. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her.

"Likewise," she said, her voice shaking from the overflow of emotions pouring into her. She loved this feeling, this little tingling, this trembling, this electricity, that only the Doctor had ever made her feel. She felt warm and protected and special and... _happy_. Just... _so_ happy.

"I love you Nella," he kissed her once more, "More than all the stars in the Universe."

She smiled into the kiss, "I don't think I can say the same..." she admitted, looking up at him, reaching out a hand to touch his cheek as he looked at her, confused by her words, "There aren't enough stars in the Universe, throughout the whole of time and space, to express how much _I_ love _you_."

He beamed at that, lifting her hand to kiss once more before tucking it into his arm and leading her towards reception.

"Merry Christmas, sir, ma'am," a steward smiled.

"Merry Christmas," they said before stepping past him and entering the ballroom where the band was playing.

"It's not a holiday for me, not while I've still got my vone," a rather snooty sounding man spat into his small communicator as they walked by, "Now do as I say and _sell_."

They watched as he walked off before the Doctor approached a robotic angel, making sure to stand a bit before Angel as he knew she was still uneasy around them. Angel had to smile at that, everything he did really _was_ for her wasn't it? He probably hadn't even realized he'd moved in front of her, as though to protect her, and that was just so him.

He'd step in the way of a bullet if it meant saving someone else.

"Evening," the Doctor nodded at the robot, "Passengers 56 and 57. Terrible memory. Remind me. Uh, you would be..."

"Information: Heavenly Host supplying tourist information," it stated.

"Good, so, um...tell me, 'cos I'm an idiot, where are we from?"

"Information: the _Titanic_ is en route from the planet Sto in the Cassavalian Belt. The purpose of the cruise is to experience primitive cultures."

"It's _really_ called the _Titanic_?" Angel frowned at that, she didn't know much about a lot of things, but...she knew enough to know that the _Titanic_ was _no_ t a ship you wanted to be on. The Doctor had told her a story once that he'd actually been on the ship...expressly stating that its sinking was NOT his fault...but remarking that it _was_ a terrible wreck. Being on a spaceship of the same name was _not_ shaping up to be a good omen for this Christmas either.

 _"_ Um...who...thought of the name?" the Doctor asked, actually starting to grow a bit uneasy about this as well.

"Information: it was chosen as the most famous vessel of the planet Earth,"

"Did they tell you _why_ it was famous?"

"Information: all designations are chosen by Mr. Max Capricorn, president of Max…Max…Max…" they stepped back as the Host started to jerk its head, short circuiting.

"Ooh, bit of a glitch," the Doctor remarked, reaching into his pocket for the sonic.

"Sir, we can handle this," another steward ran forward, waving to two others for some help as they switched off the Host and carried it away, "Software problem, that's all. Leave it with us, sir, ma'am. Merry Christmas," he turned and followed the other stewards off, "That's another one down," he muttered, "What's going on with these things?"

~8~

Down in the Host storage area, the stewards dropped the Host down onto a repair table, "That's eight of them now on the blink," the steward said to an engineer, "One woman, she asked the Host to fix her necklace. It almost broke her neck...in _First Class_!"

"I've been over the robotics," the engineer replied, "Nothing. It's like somebody's got into them. Some kind of bug," a forklift drove by with Host parts on it, "Whoa, wait, wait, wait. Over there, Bay _15_."

"Tell you what. If you can't fix them, throw them overboard!" the two men walked off in opposite directions, neither noticing the Host move its head.

~8~

In reception Angel glanced over to look at a blonde haired waitress moments before she dropped her tray of drinks, bumping into the snooty man from before, "For Tov's sake, look where you're going!" the man glared, wiping off his jacket and gesturing at it angrily, "This jacket's a genuine Earth antique."

"I'm sorry, sir," the woman fell to her knees and picked up the broken glass, her head bowed.

"You'll be sorry when it comes off your wages, sweetheart. Staffed by _idiots_. No wonder Max Capricorn is going down the drain," luckily though, he stalked off and left the woman alone.

"He's ruder than you," Angel murmured to the Doctor, moving over to help the woman herself as the other passengers just sneered down at her, making the woman even more conscious she was being watched than before.

"Careful," the Doctor called as he followed her to the woman's side, having seen the interaction as well, he quickly moved a shard of glass away from the woman's hand, "There we go."

"Thank you, sir," the woman smiled, "I can manage."

"Of course you can," Angel smiled, kneeling down to help too, "Doesn't mean you don't need help from time to time."

"I'm the Doctor, by the way," he introduced, "And this is my Mate, the Angel."

Angel couldn't help but blush at that. She'd noticed that SHE wasn't the only one who had seemed to have picked up a bit of a habit from their time as humans in 1913. While she tended to brush a piece of her hair behind her ears, even if there wasn't anything there to brush, the Doctor, well...ever since they'd returned form 1913, whenever he'd introduced her, he would start by calling her his Mate. She had to admit that she liked it, she liked being known as his Mate, she loved the fact that he seemed so eager and happy for others to know as well. It was also, she thought, a bit of a warning move for him. By introducing her as HIS Mate right off the bat...it kept other men away from her. It _did_ depend on the man though, some were just kind men who chatted with anyone, those men were fine with her, some were boys or old men, and they were sweet. She supposed it was really to keep the ones who were too flirtacious for their own good, like Jack before he'd calmed down, or the ones that didn't know when to stop, from focusing on her which she was thankful for. The only man she wanted to flirt or focus on her in that way was the Doctor.

And it was endlessly sweet to hear him calling her his Mate, especially the smile he threw her afterwards, which he was doing now.

"Astrid," the waitress nodded, "Astrid Peth."

"Nice to meet you, Astrid Peth," Angel greeted, "And I hope you have a very merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, ma'am," Astrid looked at her, surprised at her kind words because...she could tell...the girl was genuinely being sincere, she really did wish her the best Christmas, and that was kind, far kinder than many of the other guests had been to her.

"No, no, just Angel please," she shook her head, "Just call me Angel, not 'ma'am.'"

"And I'm just 'Doctor,' not 'sir,'" the Doctor added for good measure.

"You enjoying the cruise?" Astrid asked them, nodding in acceptance of their request.

"Hmm…" the Doctor trailed, thoughtful, "Christmas…on a cruise…with my Mate…yeah, _very much_."

"Stop it," Angel nudged him a bit, blushing. He just gave her a peck on the lips...or three...neither seeing Astrid sigh at the action.

"Are you honeymooners?" Astrid stood.

"No, no," the Doctor laughed, standing and helping Angel up as well, "And what about you? What are you doing on the cruise? Long way from home, Planet Sto."

"Doesn't _feel_ that different," Astrid remarked, gesturing to the tray in her hand, "I spent three years working at the spaceport diner, travelled all the way here...and I'm _still_ waiting on tables."

"They don't let you visit the Earth?" Angel asked as they followed after her when she resumed her clearing up.

"We're not allowed," she sighed, picking up some glasses left on a table by the window, "They can't afford the insurance. I just wanted to try it, just once. I used to watch the ships heading off to the stars and I always dreamt of...it sounds daft."

"You dreamt of another sky," the Doctor nodded, "New sun, new air, new life. A whole Universe teeming with life. Why stand still when there's all that life out there?"

Astrid shook her head sharply out of her thoughts, "So...you travel a lot?"

"Oh all the time," Angel nodded, beaming at that.

It was so odd. She never thought she'd _like_ travelling when she'd been on Gallifrey. She supposed it was because she'd always had so many responsibilities, taking care of the TARDISes. She hadn't wanted to leave them. She could pilot one remarkably well, better than many other Time Lords, but then again, she HAD had access to them for her entire life. But she'd never really _wanted_ to leave. She'd never really _ever_ left Gallifrey before. The Universe, while amazing, had never really...touched her the way the mystery and brilliance of the TARDISes did. She'd been content then.

But then the War came and everything changed. In such a short time she'd lost the TARDISes, she'd lost her family, she'd lost her home...but she still had one TARDIS left to care for and that one was _so_ full of life. It was almost like the TARDIS was taking them to all the most amazing places to try and show her what she was missing. And she had to admit, she rather loved the adventures and the places she'd been, the people she'd met, the things she'd seen. Though, it probably also had to do with the _company_ , the Doctor made everything so much more amazing!

"Just for fun," the Doctor added, though inwardly beaming at the feelings and thoughts he was getting from Angel. He was _so pleased_ that he'd managed to inspire her sense of adventure in such a way. He loved it!

"That's what we _try_ to do at least," Angel continued.

"Never quite works."

"Always works out for the best in the end though," Angel nudged him.

"That it does," he admitted.

He could see it now, hindsight truly was 20/20 unlike Angel's foresight. Everything that had happened, had _needed_ to happen. He needed to regenerate to be able to be this new man and tell Angel how he truly felt about her. Angel had needed to regenerate for her body to begin anew, more accepting of her abilities to allow them to grow. Rose had had to go to Pete's World otherwise they would have never met Martha Jones. They would have never had the adventures they'd had with her if they'd had Rose. Angel had been right, they were two entirely different people. They wouldn't have gone to meet Shakespeare or New New York again or Old New York or anything if not for showing them to Martha. There was no saying that they would have found the Master if Rose had been there.

By losing Rose, they had gained so much as well.

"Must be rich though," Astrid remarked.

"Haven't got a penny," the Doctor shook his head, before whispering, "Stowaways."

"Kidding?" Astrid's eyes widened.

"Seriously."

"No!"

"Oh, yeah."

"How did you get onboard?"

"We had a bit of an accident with your ship," Angel said, "I was working on rebuilding our ship with the Doctor and we left the defenses down. Ended up bumping right into the _Titanic_."

"And here we are," the Doctor finished, "Bit of a party, I thought 'Why not?' Take a break, _celebrate_ ," he wrapped his arm around Angel's waist, holding her back to him, swaying her a bit in his arms as he grinned widely. Boy did he have _a lot_ to celebrate. She was ok, she was alive, and healthy and fine and in his arms once more. What wasn't there to celebrate?

"I should report you," Astrid murmured.

"You _should_ ," Angel smiled knowingly at the woman.

Astrid considered them a moment, "I'll get you a drink..." and added in a whisper, "On the house."

As she left, going past a group of first class passengers, they couldn't help but notice that the group was laughing and pointing at the expense of a heavy set couple a few tables away, dressed in purple country western outfits, eating away at the food on their table.

"Just ignore 'em," the black man said to the white woman next to him.

"Something's tickled them," the Doctor muttered as he pulled out a seat for Angel to sit down at their table, taking a seat close beside her.

"They told us it was fancy dress," the woman tugged at her shirt, "Very funny, I'm sure."

"They're just pickin' on us because we haven't paid," the man said, "We _won_ our tickets in a competition."

"I had to name the five husbands of Joofie Crystalle in 'By the Light of the Asteroid.' Did you ever watch..."

"Is that the one with the twins?" the Doctor frowned, trying to recall it, Angel completely lost as she actually hadn't seen many 'alien' shows, with Rose and Martha around she'd ended up watching quite a bit of human telly.

"That's it. Oh, it's marvelous."

"Probably not good enough for _that_ lot," the man motioned at the laughing table, "They think we should be in steerage."

The Doctor put his hand in his pocket, "Can't have that, can we?" he crossed his arms, holding the sonic under his left arm and flashing it. The champagne on the laughing table popped its cork and sprayed all of them.

"Did…did _you_ do that?" the woman looked at the Doctor.

"Maybe," he smiled as he put the sonic away.

"We like you."

"We do," the man nodded, reaching out his hand to the Doctor, "I'm Morvin van Hoff," and then to Angel, "This is my good woman, Foon."

"It's nice to meet you Foon," Angel said warmly, shaking the woman's hand.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor," he greeted, "And this is my Mate, the Angel."

"Ooh, I'm gonna need a doctor by the time I'm finished with this buffet," Foon laughed, picking up a bit of food, "Have a buffalo wing. They must be enormous, these buffalo, so many wings."

The Doctor picked up a buffalo wing, holding it out to Angel offeringly.

"I'm not hungry," she shook her head. It was a bit odd though, she _should_ be hungry, she'd barely eaten anything on the _Valiant_ the last few days, unable to really keep anything down if she tried. One of the guards had brought her a bit of bread near the end, and she'd nibbled on that, but just...hadn't managed to keep it in her stomach. She should be hungry but her stomach just felt queasy, still settling, like the rest of her was, to being back to full health once more. She'd probably be starving after this adventure was over though...

' _I'll make you a buffet of cupcakes,_ ' the Doctor promised her in his mind, ' _As many red velvet ones as you can eat, as much hot chocolate as you can drink, and I'll get the TARDIS to make a fireplace somewhere so we can get in a nice cuddle for good measure._ '

She smiled, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder, he was SO good to her, ' _I look forward to that._ '

He nodded and nibbled on the wing in his hand.

"Attention please," the speaker came on, "Shore leave tickets Red 6-7 now activated. Red 6-7."

"Red 6-7!" Foon pulled out the red ticket, "That's us," she stood and turned to them, "Are you Red 6-7?"

"Might as well be," the Doctor shrugged, getting up and holding a hand to Angel as well.

"Come on," Morvin smiled, putting an arm around Foon, "We're going to Earth!"

~8~

Frame examined a panel, frowning at the readings, "Seems to be power diverted to Deck 31, sir. It flared up then it stopped."

"Nothing to worry about," the captain called, "She's an old ship, full of aches and pains."

"Picking up a meteoroid shower portside, bearing West 56 North 2."

"Pretty standard in this part of space. Miles away."

"We could probably see it, sir," Frame remarked, taking out a pair of binoculars and peering through them at the meteoroids, not seeing the captain watching him closely from behind.

~8~

An older man, a bit bald, stood before a small gathering of people, in a tweed suit, holding up a red sign bearing '6-7' on it as he called out, "Red 6-7. Red 6-7. This way, fast as you can."

The van Hoffs rushed over followed by the Doctor and Angel, when Astrid stepped up to them, a tall drink on her tray with a small, pink, fruity drink with a small yellow umbrella in it beside it, "I got you those drinks."

"That's so _cute_ ," Angel smiled, plucking the umbrella out of the drink to look at it as though she had never seen one before, it was adorable in how miniature it was and the pattern on it. She opened it fully and moved to place it behind her ear like it was a flower.

"And we got you a treat," the Doctor laughed at Angel's reaction to the umbrella as he took Astrid's tray and set it on a table, "Come on."

"Red 6-7 departing shortly," the old man announced.

"2 Red 6-7s," the Doctor held up the psychic paper to the man, "Plus one."

"Uh, quickly, sir, ma'am. And please take three teleport bracelets if you would."

"I'll get the _sack_ ," Astrid whisper-yelled as Angel took the bracelets for them.

"Brand new sky," the Doctor smiled as Angel looked at the teleport bracelets a moment longer before handing one to Astrid and one to the Doctor, slipping her own on. It was weird, just then...she'd felt _exactly_ the same as when she'd been on the Game Station, when she'd been holding Jack's shock bracelets and, for some reason, kept them. Those bracelets...

"To repeat, I am Mr. Copper, the ship's historian," the old man, Mr. Copper, explained, pulling Angel's attention away, "And I shall be taking you to old London town in the country of U.K. ruled over by good King Wenceslas. Now human beings worshipped the great god Santa, a creature with fearsome claws, and his wife Mary. And every Christmas Eve the people of U.K. go to war with the country of Turkey. They then eat the Turkey people for Christmas dinner...like _savages_."

Angel and the Doctor looked at each other. She knew she wasn't the cleverest Time Lord, but still…even _she_ knew that was _very_ wrong.

"Excuse me, sorry, sorry, but, um...where did you get all this from?" the Doctor asked the man.

"Well, I have a first class degree in Earthonomics. Now standby..."

"And me!" a high-pitched voice called, "And me! Red 6-7!" a small red alien with short spikes on his head and face ran over.

"Well, take a bracelet, sir..."

"Uh, but, um, hold on, hold on," the Doctor frowned, "What was your name?"

"Bannakaffalatta," the alien replied.

"Ok, Bannakaffalatta. But it's Christmas Eve down there. Late night shopping, _tons_ of people. He's like a walking conker. No offense, but you'll cause a riot 'cos the streets are going to be _packed_ with shoppers and parties..."

And they were teleported down to Earth, arriving on an empty, nearly desolate, street.

The Doctor looked around, "Oh."

"Now, spending money," Mr. Copper held up a small card, "I have a credit card in Earth currency if you want to by trinkets or, uh, stockings or the local delicacy, which is known as 'beef' but don't stray too far, it could be dangerous. Any day now they start boxing."

"Something's wrong…" Angel frowned, looking at the empty street.

"It should be _full_ ," the Doctor agreed, confused, "It should be _busy_."

"Oh it's _beautiful_!" Astrid cried, looking around, awed.

"Really?" the Doctor looked at her, "Do you think so? It's just a _street_. The pyramids are beautiful, and New Zealand, and you..." he winked at Angel before taking her hand and pulling her to him, just dancing in the middle of the street to no music any human could hear, though Angel knew he was moving in time with their hearts beats.

"But it's a different planet!" Astrid continued, reminding the Doctor that they were _not_ alone, though he didn't stop dancing with Angel, "I'm standing on a different planet!"

Angel smiled gently as she rested her head on the Doctor's shoulder, "Different ground beneath your feet," she murmured, "Different sky, different smells…" she looked up at the Doctor, "Just like Rose."

The Doctor smiled sadly at that before suddenly turning and dipping her to the side, making Angel laugh and him smile, their thoughts no longer grim.

"This is amazing! Thank you!" Astrid ran over as soon as Angel was upright and hugged them both.

"You're very welcome," Angel nodded, "Now that we're here, we might as well have a look," she linked her arms with Astrid and looked around before spotting someone, "Doctor, is it just me...or does that man look a bit like Donna?" she nodded to the side.

The Doctor tilted his head before leading them across the street to a newsagent's booth where an old man was sitting, bundled in winter wear.

"Hello there!" the Doctor smiled, "Sorry, uh, obvious question, but where's everybody gone?"

"Oh ho, scared!" the man laughed.

"Right, yes. Scared of what?"

"Where have _you_ been living?" the man scoffed, " _London_ at _Christmas_? Not safe, is it?"

"Why?"

"Well, it's them, up above," he pointed up, "Look, Christmas before last we had that big bloody spaceship, everyone standing on a roof," he pointed at his small TV, showing a news clip, "And then last year, that Christmas Star electrocuting all over the place, draining the Thames."

"Our track record really _isn't_ looking good for Christmas is it?" Angel asked the Doctor quietly, growing a bit more uneasy at the reminders of their past Christmases.

"This place is _amazing_ ," Astrid breathed, still in awe of it all.

"And this year, Lord knows what," the man continued, "So everybody's scarpered, gone to the country. All except me...and Her Majesty," he stood, proud, and smiled at the TV.

"Her Majesty, the Queen, has confirmed that she _will_ be staying in Buckingham Palace throughout the festive season to show the people of London, and the world, that there's _nothing_ to fear," a news reporter stated.

"God bless her!" the man saluted the TV, "We stand vigil."

"Well, between you and me, I think her Majesty's got it right," the Doctor said, "Far as I know, this year, nothing to worry about."

And suddenly they were teleported back to the ship, leaving the man standing there, mouth agape, staring at the spot they'd just been standing in, "Then again..." he fell back into his seat.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG! We have the return of the fluff! Woo! What a way to start a new series hmm? Don't you love fluffy Doctor? I think we really needed that after what happened with the Year-That-Never-Was :) And...Donna...I sort of could see Angel making the connection between Wilf and Donna :) We're gonna get to her very soon! 
> 
> As for the title of this story...we'll get a hint of the reason behind it in The Fires of Pompeii and more about it in The Poison Sky :) But here's a bigger question...are you worried about this story's summary? -evil smirk-


	2. Voyage of the Damned: The Iceberg

"I was in mid-sentence," the Doctor muttered, annoyed, as they appeared on the ship.

He pouted at that, he always hated being interrupted. Well...there was ONE thing he didn't mind getting interrupted by.

But Angel hadn't kissed him just then.

He'd been _rudely_ pulled away from a lovely conversation and beamed back aboard the ship. Anything short of Angel kissing him was a most unwelcome interruption in his book. Though...now that _that_ thought was in his mind, he glanced around the room, trying to see if he could spot some mistletoe...bowtie or not he was rather in need of another good long kiss with his magnificent Mate. Yes, he'd kissed her only a short while ago when they'd stepped out of the TARDIS but...they'd been forced apart for a _year_ , every move watched by the Master. All he really wanted to do was hold her in his arms, never let her go, and kiss her to the point of breathlessness over and over and over to make up for that.

No...that was a lie. He _always_ wanted to do that regardless of how long he was away from her or how long he was around her.

He really _couldn't_ get enough of her kisses.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that," Mr. Copper said, sounding as confused as the guests were about what had happened, "A bit of a problem. If I could have your bracelets…"

"Apologies, ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta," a steward stepped forward, "We seem to have suffered a slight power fluctuation. If you'd like to return to the festivities. And on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruise Liners, free drinks will be provided," the ticket holders slowly departed, dropping their bracelets back into a basket.

"That was the best, _the best_!" Astrid cheered, handing them her bracelet.

"Here," Angel said, holding out her hand, "I'll put them back."

The Doctor slipped his bracelet to her as she walked over to the basket. She paused, though, looking down at the three bracelets in her hand again, eyeing them intently, trying to figure out _why_ she was so focused on them. She was actually trying to get better at her 'visions' or whatever they were of the future, really wanting to have more of an explanation behind why she felt certain things because, if she could explain it to the humans they might believe her quicker not to do something. Like now, she _knew_ that the bracelets were important, but she didn't know _why_ , she didn't understand _what_ they would be useful for. Well, she knew for teleporting at least but...she kept thinking she only needed _two_ of them. If anything happened she knew the bracelets _wouldn't_ be for her and the Doctor, neither of them would just run and leave others behind, trapped or hurt. She sighed and simply slipped two into a pocket of her gown, dropping only one off, it was better not to ignore her feelings. Whatever the bracelets would be used for in the future...at least she _had_ them to use them now.

"What sort of power fluctuation?" she heard the Doctor ask as she returned to his side by the stewards.

~8~

Frame frowned, watching the meteoroids, getting closer, "That's a bit odd, sir, the meteoroids are changing course. Still, we can put the shields up to maximum just in case."

"As you were, Midshipman," the captain said when the young boy began to try and power up the shields.

Frame looked over, startled, to see the captain pushing buttons on an instrument panel, realizing what controls they were exactly, "Sir? You're magnetizing the hull, sir. It's drawing the meteors _in_."

"Port turning Earthside," the computer announced.

Frame swallowed hard, the truth hitting him, working out what the captain might be doing, though hoping against hope that he was wrong, "I take it that's deliberate..."

"Port turning Earthside."

"Bit of a light show for the guests?" _please_ let him be wrong.

"Something like that," the captain remarked with a solemn tone in his voice.

Frame let out a breath, no, he _wasn't_ wrong.

~8~

The van Hoffs were eating at their table, enjoying the buffet, as the stewards warily eyed the Host, the snooty man was winning at roulette while Bannakaffalatta danced crazily in the middle of the floor despite the song being a rather slow version of 'All I Want For Christmas,' and Astrid smiled at the Doctor and Angel in thanks as she stood holding the tray of free drinks for the guests.

The Doctor watched the various passengers dancing slowly to the Christmas tune and beamed, an idea hitting him, before standing and making an exaggerated bow to Angel, offering her his hand, "I believe we have unfinished business to attend to my lady."

She laughed, her eyes sparkling, "Why I believe we do my lord," she nodded as she took his hand and he led her to the dance floor, pulling her close. He wound his arms around her waist as she put hers over his shoulders, leaning in to rest her head on his shoulder, smiling as she felt him rest his head beside her own, his mouth near her ear. They swayed, not really dancing, lord knew the Doctor couldn't dance a step, but just...moving, together, in sync, as they always were.

Angel let out a little gasp when she heard the Doctor's light humming turn into him singing quietly in her ear as they swayed on, "...I just want you for my own," he sang with the end of the slow song, "More than you could _ever_ know," she smiled, feeling more in his words than _just_ lyrics, "Make my wish come true," he tilted her chin up to look into her eyes, "All I want for Christmas is...you," he smiled at her, meaning it, " _All_ I want for Christmas, is _you_ ," he sang to her, making her shiver, she loved his voice.

"You already have me," she murmured up at him, love shining in her eyes for him, making him breathless at just the sight, before she leaned in and kissed him gently, moving to rest her head on his shoulder once more, closing her eyes, listening more to his hearts beating than the song slowly fading around them.

That song though, he couldn't help but think...

It was _so_ true.

On the _Valiant_ , all he wanted was for her to be ok, for her to live, for her to somehow survive, and now...he'd gotten it. His prayers had been answered. He laughed a bit at the irony of that, people always called him the lonely god, though he couldn't imagine himself being lonely now that he had Angel, but still...god and his angel. When the Master had said it, it sounded like more of an insult than anything but, thinking on it, they really _were_ just so synonymous with each other. Where would HE be without his Angel at his side? He didn't even want to _think_ about it. Not even on the _Valiant_ did he want to entertain the notion that Angel might truly die. He'd had a sliver of hope that had arisen from his instructions for Martha. He had worked out that, if they could stop the Paradox Machine, that everything, no matter what the Master did in the future, would revert right back to the moment the paradox began, when the machine started. When he'd realized Angel was dying, he'd prayed more than he ever had that he was right because then the machine would revert back to before it activated, before the TARDIS grew ill, before Angel did the same. He'd had that small sliver to cling to that, if the machine stopped, she'd snap back and be ok again.

And she was.

And he was _so_ thankful for that, words couldn't express how much.

These moments, now, were even more precious to them since surviving the _Valiant_. You never knew how special something truly was till it was gone and, while they were both VERY aware of how important the other was to them, these moments...they cherished them so much more now. Each and every moment, while it had always been important to them, was even more so. Because they were together, they were alive, they were safe...

Angel's eyes snapped open...

'... _Brace yourselves!_...'

... _he held her, doing his best to protect her as they were thrown to the floor_...

'... _I've got life signs all over the ship but they're going out one by one_...'

"Doctor," she breathed, "Something's wrong. Something's coming."

The Doctor looked down at her, seeing the vision and hearing the words spoken in her mind and quickly took her hand, looking around for some way to check the ship...when he spotted it, a framed screen of Max Capricorn playing on the wall near a window. He quickly led her over to it. If something struck the ship, as it appeared it did in her mind, then it had to have come from outside, something had to be approaching...he just needed to know what it was. He needed to know what the danger was, he'd _just_ got her back to full health, he was NOT about to risk her safety again.

Not now.

Not so soon after having nearly lost her.

"...and I should know because my name is Max," the video finished. The Doctor put on his specs and pulled out the sonic, flashing the frame as the video started again, "The fastest, the furthest, the best...my name is Max."

He opened the frame and flashed the inside, changing some settings as Angel watched anxiously over his shoulder, till the screen began to show the _Titanic_ and her immediately surroundings, like a radar. His eyes widened, seeing the shields offline and specks of something flying towards the ship. He quickly peered out the window, _seeing_ the meteors approaching them they were so near, "The shields are offline!"

He grabbed Angel's hand, about to pull her away, his mind and hearts racing with the thought that he had to get her to safety, he had to get her back to the TARDIS before the meteors struck them, he had to protect her and...

Angel stopped, tugging him back, "We can't go," she shook her head.

"Angel..."

"No," she insisted gently, "We need to warn the bridge," she told him, "Please...it's more than _just_ the shields," she glanced out the windows at the approaching meteors, "There something _else_ …"

"What?" he looked at her quickly.

She scrunched her face a bit before shaking her head, frustrated, "I don't know."

He nodded, understanding, before turning back to the frame and doing as she requested, changing the settings to act as a comm. to the bridge, "Is that the bridge? I need to talk to the captain. You've got a meteoroid storm coming in West 0 by North 2."

"Who is this?" the captain called.

"Never mind that. Your _shields_ are _down_. Check your scanners, Captain. You've got meteoroids coming in and no shielding!"

"You have no authorization. You will clear the comm. at once."

"Yeah? Just look starboard!"

Suddenly two stewards appeared, grabbing the Doctor and the Angel and 'escorting' them out of the room, "Come with me, sir, ma'am," the chief steward ordered.

~8~

"But he's _right_ , sir," Frame said, moving to an instrument panel, checking and seeing the man was right, the shields really _were_ lowered, "The shields _have_ been taken offline."

"Step away from there," the captain ordered, seeing Frame trying to reverse the controls.

"But we have to re-energize them…"

"I _said_ step _away_ , Midshipman," the captain threatened.

Frame looked up, only to see the captain holding a gun at him.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel struggled as they were led away through reception, the Doctor quite a bit more than Angel, "You've got a rock storm heading for this ship and the shields are down!" the Doctor shouted, trying to get through to anyone, " _My Mate_ is onboard! You need to _listen_ to me!"

He struggled as hard as he could, he HAD to get free, if the humans wouldn't listen then fine, but he was NOT about to risk his Mate because of that. He _needed_ to get her out of there! Quickly!

~8~

"They promised me old men," the captain lamented, tears filling his eyes as he looked at Frame.

"I'm sorry, sir?" Frame frowned, trying to edge back to the controls once more.

"On the crew. Sea dogs, men who'd had their time. Not _boys_."

~8~

Angel frowned, managing to knock into one of the stewards before her, jolting him enough for the Doctor to break free and run to the stage where the band was playing a cheerful tune, taking the microphone, knowing Angel would _never_ let him drag her out of there unless he tried everything he could to warn the humans first, "Everyone, listen to me! This is an emergency! Get to the lifeb…"

A Host covered his mouth with a hand and led him off stage while Astrid, the van Hoffs, and Bannakaffalatta looked on in shock.

"Astrid," Angel called, seeing that at least Astrid and the van Hoffs were paying attention and actually LISTENING, "Please, believe him! He's telling the truth. You're in danger!"

But a steward squeezed her arms, pulling her off before she could say another word.

~8~

"I'm sorry, sir," Frame took a breath and gathered his courage to turn his back on the captain, knowing the man had a gun and _would_ fire at him, but _needing_ to protect the passengers, "It's my duty!"

He turned to the panel...

And the captain fired.

~8~

The Doctor twisted and jerked as he was taken out more forcefully this time for his latest feat, passing a small gathering of people, who were chuckling and pointing at them as though it were all a joke.

"Look out the windows!" Angel pleaded with them, hoping they'd hear the honesty and concern and fear in her voice.

The snooty man from before actually seemed to do that and frowned but Astrid and the van Hoffs ran after them.

"Them, friends," Bannakaffalatta excused himself from a conversation and ran off as well.

The snooty man turned and looked out the window, spotting little points of light heading towards them...

~8~

"If you don't believe me, check the shields yourself!" the Doctor cried as the stewards hauled them way, out of reception, away from the passengers.

His hearts were racing at the realization that the humans just _weren't_ listening. Angel was in true danger now and all he wanted to do was get her to safety. Even if the humans didn't listen to him, he needed to get free of them, he needed to get HER free and back to the TARDIS, now! This was too much, he couldn't stand it any longer. His hearts were pounding, his mind had gone fuzzy (and not the good kind of fuzzy like when Angel kissed him), he was shaking in fear of what might happen to her.

Always her.

He couldn't care less if _he_ got hurt during an adventure, but if _Angel_ did...he was her _Mate_ , it was his job to protect her. No, not his job, it was his promise, his need, his instinct to protect her from _every_ harm. And right now, everything inside of him was telling him to get her away, to make the humans let her go in any way he could, even...hurt them to get her free. It was a bit of a scary feeling, the desire to actually _hurt_ someone else but his mind had left him it seemed.

All he could see was his Mate in danger and that he had to protect her.

"Sir, I can vouch for him!" Astrid yelled as the small group followed the stewards, trying to reason with them.

"Look, steward, he's just had a bit too much to drink," Morvin argued.

"Sir, something seems to have gone wrong," Mr. Copper joined them, "All the teleports are down."

"Not now!" the steward spat.

~8~

A small piece of rock broke through the window in the ballroom and landed at the snooty man's feet.

"Oxygen membrane holding," the computer announced, "Oxygen membrane holding."

He eyed the rock a moment, knowing enough to realize that it _shouldn't_ have gotten through, not if the shielding really _was_ working. He turned to a Host, "You there. Has anyone checked the external shielding?"

"Information: you are all going to die," it replied.

~8~

The captain stood at the wheel while Frame lay on the floor, still alive but bleeding from a wound to his side, groaning.

A screen showed the meteoroids getting closer.

~8~

"Where's the chief steward?" the snooty mask asked a steward as he ran out into reception, knowing that the steward would have to listen to _him_ , a man of money and stature and importance because he _clearly_ wasn't listening to the madman and the ginger woman.

"That way, sir," the man pointed and he was off.

~8~

The chief steward strode through a maintenance corridor, the other stewards pushing the Doctor and Angel along as Astrid, Mr. Copper, Bannakaffalatta, and the van Hoffs followed, "The shields are _down_!" the Doctor repeated, his tone growing dark, " _My Mate_ is in this ship, you need to _listen_ to me or we're all going to die!"

"We are _going_ to get hit," Angel added, gasping a bit as she was shoved forward again, "Please...just _listen_!"

~8~

"You're going to kill us," Frame groaned.

"I'm dying already," the captain sighed, sounding truly regretful for everything that was happening, "Six months. And they offered me so much money...for my family."

~8~

The snooty man caught up to them, "Oi! Steward! I'm telling you the shields are down!"

"Listen to him!" the Doctor nodded, breathing just one single breath of relief that someone _else_ was saying the same, "Listen to him!"

~8~

Back in the ballroom, a young couple stood before the viewing window, "Darling, come and have a look at this," the woman called to her man.

~8~

"Red Alert," the computer called as the captain stood at the wheel, unmoving though with tears in his eyes, "Red Alert."

~8~

"Cheers," the man smiled at the woman, looking out the window, expecting a show.

~8~

Frame laid on the ground, whimpering, closing his eyes, not wanting to look, not wanting to see the captain actually do it and condemn so many people...

~8~

Angel's eyes widened, "Brace yourselves!"

~8~

The meteoroids struck the side of the ship causing everyone to be thrown to the floor, everything thrown around, sparks going off, fires rising, lights going out...chaos everywhere.

~8~

"Bert!" the chief engineer called, looking around for one of his men, "Bert!" he looked up at a Host just standing there, "Help me! Help!"

A beam fell on top of him, trapping him.

~8~

The Doctor grabbed Angel the moment she shouted, yanking himself out of the stewards' arms in a feat of strength. He held her, doing his best to protect her as they were thrown to the floor by the hit.

~8~

The Host in engineering formed a line, ready to march, ready to do what they were programmed to do.

~8~

The Doctor looked up at Angel as soon as things settled, his hands roaming her body lightly, checking to make sure she was alright, swearing threats for any and every bruise, scrape, mark on her beautiful skin...

"I'm fine," she breathed, taking his hands and just holding them a moment, feeling them shaking in her grip.

' _Theta,_ ' she said, seeing his eyes still moving over her, inspecting her. He looked up though at the use of his name, ' _I'm alright. Are you?_ '

He nodded, pulling her into his arms a moment, just hugging her in his relief that she was ok, that he'd managed to protect her this time. She had no idea, or maybe she did being not just a precog but his Mate and having access to his mind and hearts, but...he felt so guilty for the Year-That-Never-Was, for everything that had happened to her. He felt...like he'd _failed_ her. She had been dying, there had been nothing he could do to save her, he'd had to trust the humans would succeed, he'd had to sit there and watch as she grew weaker.

Because of _him_.

No, it wasn't the Master's fault...it was _his_.

Because if he'd just left the moment Angel had said that they shouldn't stay there, at the end of the Universe, then _none_ of that would have happened. Angel _had_ said that they should go, that they shouldn't stay there, but...for the first time in a _long_ while...he hadn't _listened_ to her. He'd listened, yes, he'd _heard_ her but...his curiosity had been too great. He'd wanted to see what the end of the Universe was like.

And because of _that_...because of _him_...she'd nearly died.

' _No, you're not alright, are you?_ ' Angel asked him as she hugged him back, feeling where his mind had gone, ' _Theta...I'm fine now and it was NOT your fault. Not even I saw that coming,_ ' she joked a bit, smiling as she pulled away, looking into his eyes as she touched his face, ' _It_ wasn't _your fault. YOU saved me. Again,_ ' she smiled, ' _Like you always do._ '

' _Like I always will,_ ' he added, kissing the back of her hand in promise.

She smiled, nodding at that before she looked up, listening a moment, "It's quiet...I think it's stopping," she breathed, relieved, before the Doctor stood and helped her up, her turning to help Astrid up as well, "Are you ok?"

"I think so," Astrid nodded.

"Bad name for a ship," the Doctor remarked, "Either that or this suit is _really_ unlucky."

"I told you before," Angel said, "It's the suit."

The Doctor knelt down to examine one of the stewards only to find him dead.

"My name is Max," a video looped behind them, stuck due to the damage the hit had caused, "My name is Max. My name is Max."

"Ev…everyone...ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta," the chief steward pushed himself up, though clearly shaken by what had happened, by how it was...somewhat his fault. The two passengers had been _warning_ of this, ranting and raving about it, and he'd _ignored_ them...and now...the ship was in trouble, "I must apologize on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruise Liners. We seem to have had a small collision."

The Doctor nodded Angel over to a small comm. panel where the video was playing from, having her hold the side open as he soniced it, trying to turn the video off.

" _Small_?" Morvin scoffed.

"You know how much I _paid_ for my ticket?" the snooty man asked.

"If I could have silence, ladies, gentlemen..." the steward started. But they all ignored him, talking over each other, till he shouted, "Quiet!" they stopped, "Thank you. I…I'm sure Max Capricorn Cruise Liners will be able to reimburse you for any inconvenience. But, first, I would point out that we _are_ very much alive."

"Are you alright?" Astrid turned to Mr. Copper, seeing he was hunched over and panting, with a nasty-looking cut on his head. She started dabbing it with a cloth as the Doctor and Angel walked over, having seen and heard her and worrying about the man. The Doctor leaned in to examine the cut while Angel reached out and took the man's hand, offering Mr. Copper a small, reassuring smile.

"She is, after all, a fine, sturdy ship," the steward continued, "If you could all stay here while I ascertain the exact nature of the…the situation," he turned to open a door.

"No don't!" Angel shouted, whirling around.

But it was too late.

He opened the door and was sucked right out of the hall by the vacuum. Everyone grabbed hold of anything they could to keep in place as the Doctor struggled his way over to the comm. and used the sonic to replace the shield, his hearts racing at the close call.

"Oxygen shield stabilized."

"Everyone alright?" the Doctor turned, his gaze immediately turning to the first person it always did, "Angel?" he looked over at her, worried as she wasn't responding, to see her staring at the hole in the wall, looking more than a bit shocked.

She'd been too late...she was...off. She hadn't been _that_ off in a while…maybe the whole reversal of time thing and her nearly dying had thrown her off more than she thought. Her head was still a little fuzzy from it all, it HAD only happened only hours ago, perhaps a day at most, to them at least. The TARDIS had taken a while to get used to herself after they'd fixed her up, and she was only a Time Lady, it would probably take her a little while longer to feel like her old self. But...she'd been right about the impact...maybe it was just the scope of it all. An enormous collision was harder to miss than a door opening...

She shook her head when she realized the Doctor was waiting for a response, "Yeah, I'm fine," she looked to her side, "Astrid?"

"Yeah," Astrid gasped.

"Foon?" the Doctor looked around, "Morvin? Mr. Copper? Bannakaffalatta?"

"Yes," Bannakaffalatta nodded.

"You…what was your name?" he pointed at the snooty man.

"Ah, Rickston Slade," the man grinned, well...smirked cockily was more like it.

"You alright?"

"No thanks to that idiot," he sneered at the hole.

"The steward just _died_!" Astrid chastised.

"Then he's a _dead_ idiot."

Astrid gasped at his complete lack of respect for the life of another human being.

"Alright, calm down," the Doctor called, "Just stay still, all of you. Hold on," he nodded Angel over and she walked over to the hatch opening with him, looking out though the hole where the door had been.

"What happened?" Astrid frowned, walking over to them, "How come the shields were down?"

"I don't think it was an accident."

"It _wasn't_ ," Angel nodded, staring sadly out at space to see the bodies of the passengers floating among the rubble.

"How many dead?" Astrid whispered.

"We're alive, just focus on that," the Doctor said, taking Angel's hand, squeezing it, knowing how much she'd need the comfort, she hated death, "We will get you out of here, Astrid. We promise," Astrid gave a slight nod, "Good. Now…" he looked around, "If we can get to reception, we've got a spaceship tucked away. We can all get onboard..."

"Doctor," Angel called, nodding at the hole.

He turned to look outside, "Oh."

"What is it?" Astrid frowned, "What's wrong?"

"That's our spaceship right there," she nodded again.

"Where?" Astrid squinted, not really seeing a ship floating anywhere.

"There, that box," the Doctor said, pointing at the TARDIS, in the distance, "That little blue box."

" _That's_ a spaceship?"

"Oi, don't knock it."

"It's a bit...small."

"It's a bit far away too," Angel added, sighing, not needing her abilities to know what was coming next, "Once she's sent adrift, a TARDIS is programmed to lock onto the nearest center of gravity, which is..."

"The Earth," the Doctor nodded.

"There she goes," Angel frowned as the TARDIS headed for Earth, she _really_ didn't like not knowing where the TARDIS was after the Year-That-Never-Was.

~8~

In engineering, the chief engineer was still alive, but trapped under the beam that had fallen on him, "Don't just stand there!" he shouted at a Host as it stood over him, "Get this thing off me! Host, that's an order. Help me! That's your job, isn't it?"

"Information: we now have only one function," the Host replied, stepping forward.

"And what's that?"

"Information: to kill," it reached both hands to its halo and pulled it off.

"What are you _doing_? I'm ordering you...stop it. Stop it right now!"

The Host threw the halo, spinning like a saw, towards the trapped man…

~8~

"Deck 22 to the bridge," the Doctor's voice called over the comm. in the bridge, "Deck 22 to the bridge. Is there anyone there?"

Frame moaned and clutched his side as he reached out for the comm., barely managing to heave himself up and switch the comm. on, "This is the bridge."

"Oh hello, sailor. Good to hear you. What's the situation up there?"

"We've got air. The oxygen field is holding. But the captain..." he looked over at the captain, buried under wreckage, unmoving, "He's dead. He did it," his voice cracked, "I watched while he took down the shields. There was nothing I could do. I _tried_. I _did_ try."

"It's alright," the Angel came on, her voice soothing and gentle, "We believe you. What's your name?"

"Midshipman Frame."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Frame," Angel said warmly.

"What's the state of the engines?" the Doctor asked now that the man was calm again.

"They're um..." he tried to look over at them without moving but couldn't, "Hold on," he pushed himself forward with a groan.

"Are you hurt?" Angel called back, concerned.

Frame gave a small smile at the woman's concern for him, "I'm alright," he reassured her, before he looked at the engine readings, his eyes widening, "Oh my vot. They're cycling down."

"That's a nuclear storm drive, yes?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah."

"The moment they're gone, we lose orbit."

"The planet."

"Oh yes. If we hit the planet, the nuclear storm explodes and wipes out life on Earth. Midshipman, I need you to fire up the engine containment field and feed it back into the core."

"This is _never_ going to work," he muttered but moved to do it nonetheless.

"Trust me, it'll keep the engines going until we can get to the bridge," and with that, the call cut off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I would literally melt into goop if the Doctor ever sang to me as we danced lol. How cute was that moment? I can promise at least 1 very fluffy moment between them for each chapter in this special to make up for it being 5 chapters long :)


	3. Voyage of the Damned: The Host

The Doctor sighed as switched off the comm. to the bridge, closing his eyes a moment...till he felt a hand rest on his arm. He looked over, not even really needing to do that to know it was Angel beside him, he could always feel when it was her next to him. She offered him a reassuring smile, "Everything will be alright," she told him, taking his hand, squeezing it.

He wanted to believe her, he really did, but...given what had just happened...even though a part of his mind _did_ trust her words, the Mating instinct was sending all his nerves and senses into a panic, that the ship they'd been in, that his Mate had been in, was hit. It wasn't as strong as it was and she was still in danger.

"Trust me," she added, lifting his hand to kiss his scarred knuckles, knowing it often calmed him.

He just reached out, about to touch her cheek...when Foon cried, "We're going to die!"

"Are you saying someone's done this on purpose?" Mr. Copper frowned, having heard bits and pieces of what Angel, the Doctor, and Astrid had been saying before.

"We're just a _cruise ship_!" Astrid shook her head.

"Ok, ok," the Doctor quieted them, realizing that, no matter how much he wanted to just have a moment with Angel, reassure himself completely that she was ok, they needed to focus on the scared humans, "Tch, tch. First things first. One: we're going to climb through this ship. B..."

"Two," Angel cut in with a soft smile, knowing exactly what he needed.

And...she really _did_ love how absentminded he could be. Things just slipped past him at times, his thoughts and sentences got away from him. It was amusing, as amusing, she believed, as her comments had been in her last body. She knew she amused the Doctor, Rose, and Jack with her numerous flubs of phrases and expressions and questions, and she was fine with that. She was happy she could make them smile and laugh and it never bothered her when they did because it was never done in a mean way, but jovial. With the Doctor, this Doctor in particular, he was rather rubbish at lists. It was nice, to see him NOT good at something, because she thought he was just amazing.

' _I'm as amazing as I am because of you,_ ' he pointed out to her silently, having heard her thoughts, ' _You make me want to be a better person._ '

Her smile widened as she started to blush, though she couldn't imagine him being better than he was, he really was fantastic. HER on the other hand, she needed all the help she could get just to keep up with him, but, then again...he wasn't quite as good with a TARDIS as she was. It was nice...how they balanced each other, how they complimented each other. They really _did_ make each other better in that way and it made them closer for it.

"Two," the Doctor continued, "We're going to reach the Bridge. Three…"

"Or C," she joked.

He smiled, seeing what she was trying to do, distract him, calm him, "We're going to save the _Titanic_. And, coming in a very low four."

"Or D."

"Or that little 'iv' in brackets they use in footnotes..." he laughed, feeling his hearts slowing, lightening at how she was smiling and laughing, his nerves calming. Leave it to her to sense his lingering fears and somehow make him realize that the danger, it seemed, had passed for now or, at least, they weren't in any immediate danger at the moment. He could feel his mind clearing a bit more, allowing him to think past the instinctual drive to put her safety first, "Why? Right then, follow us," he took Angel's hand and started down the corridor.

"Hang on a minute," Rickston cut in, "Who put _you_ in charge and who the hell _are_ you two anyway?"

"I'm the Doctor and this is my Mate, the Angel. We're Time Lords. We're from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. We're 903 and 797 years old and we're the ones who're gonna save your lives and all six billion of the people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?"

"No," Rickston shook his head.

"In that case, Allons-y!" he turned and walked off with Angel, leading them down the hall, Angel giggling a bit at his side for his little speech, he did have a flare for the dramatic didn't he?

~8~

The Doctor and Angel slowly pushed a metal door open into a stairwell, seeing why it was so difficult to move in the first place, the small area was full of debris and sparking cables, "Careful," the Doctor called back, "Follow me," he stepped out and started clearing the way, making sure Angel was behind him, then Astrid, and Bannakaffalatta, Mr. Copper, Rickston and the van Hoffs.

"Rather ironic when this is very much in the spirit of Christmas," Mr. Copper began, thoughtful, "It's a festival of violence. They say that human beings only survive depending on whether they've been good or bad. It's _barbaric_."

"That's not really true Mr. Copper," Angel said softly.

Or at least she didn't _think_ it was.

Her own experiences with Christmas hadn't been the best. First the Sycorax attacked...that had been violent, especially given what Harriet Jones had done when the aliens were leaving. Then the Racnoss tried to free her children, electrocuting people in the streets with her webbed-star-ship-thing. Well...now thinking on it...it sort of WAS a rather violent last few Christmases. But that wasn't what it was _supposed_ to be though. Christmas, from what she'd seen of Rose and her mum and then Donna's parents, was a time of celebration, of joy and love and family. In that sense, she could see herself loving Christmas as much as the Doctor did...if only she could experience just ONE where they weren't facing someone trying to harm others.

"Christmas is a time of…of peace and thanksgiving," the Doctor nodded, seeing her thoughts, though he was frowning a bit, he'd _so_ been hoping to make this a _good_ Christmas for Angel and, so far, it wasn't exactly living up to that promise, "And...what am I on about? Christmas is _always_ like this," he stopped, seeing a dormant Host, "We've got a Host!" he cheered as Angel paused, staring down at the robot warily, "Strength of ten. If we can mend it, we can use it to fix the rubble."

"We can do robotics, both of us," Morvin called.

"We worked on the milk market back on Sto," Foon agreed, "It's all robot staff."

"See if you can get it working," the Doctor told them, before grinning at Angel, the woman smiling, more as a return to his smile than the hope of fixing the Host, she _really_ didn't like robots after the last two Christmases, "Let's have a look," he took her hand, wanting to reassure her, able to sense her hesitancy with the Host, and climbed up the stairs, everyone following but the van Hoffs. They stopped, seeing their path was still blocked by the wreckage.

"It's blocked," Astrid breathed.

"So?" Angel smiled at her, "What does that mean?"

"Means we need to shift it."

"That's the attitude," the Doctor grinned, "Rickston, Mr. Copper, and you, Bannakaffalatta...look, can I just call you Banna? It's gonna save a lot of time."

"No!" Bannakaffalatta said, sounding almost offended, "Bannakaffalatta!"

"Alright then, Bannakaffalatta, there's a gap in the middle. See if you can get through."

"Easy. Good," he wiggled a bit as he climbed onto the small passage, managing to squeeze through the opening, but the ship shook, shaking debris loose with it, the group gasping as they avoided it falling on them, the Doctor pulling Angel into his arms to protect her.

"This whole thing could come crashing down any minute!" Rickston called.

"Oh, Rickston, I forgot," the Doctor glanced at him over Angel's shoulders, "Did you get our message?"

"No. What message?"

"Shut up!"

"Bannakaffalatta made it!" the alien called out to them from the other side.

"I'm small enough, I can get through," Astrid pushed her way through as well.

"Careful," the Doctor warned.

"I'm fine."

"Thing is, how are Mr. and Mrs. Fatso gonna get through this gap?" Rickston sneered.

"We just have to make it bigger," Angel said.

"So start," the Doctor agreed, handing Rickston a piece of metal.

"I can get through too," Angel turned to the passage.

"Wait…" the Doctor called, pulling her back a bit.

"What is it?"

He gave her a quick, though very deep, kiss, "For good luck," he murmured, before kissing her once more, he really _couldn't_ get enough of her kisses.

She smiled, "I should give those to _you_ don't you think."

He paused a moment in thought, "Yes," he replied, dead serious, "Yes you should."

She laughed and turned to climb through the passage after Astrid, the Doctor watching her go, convincing himself he was watching to make sure she'd get to the other side alright and not because of the view of her going.

"I'll make sure to do it when this is over then!" she called back over her shoulder at him, making him grin at the promise.

Even more kisses!

Maybe their luck was turning around...

~8~

"Hey, hey!" Morvin turned to his wife who'd started sniffling at Rickston's words, the two of them able to hear everything going on above them, they weren't THAT far away from the group, "Come on, sweetheart. Don't listen to him."

"No, but it's all my fault, though," she said, "The tickets..."

"We won them fair and square."

"I know," she sighed, "I never told ya. I dialed the competition line 5,000 times. That's 5,000 credits. I might as well have paid for the tickets. I've been hiding the vone bill for _months_ now."

"5,000 credits?! You spent _5,000 credits_?!"

She nodded, ashamed, "Don't hate me…" she closed her eyes, expecting him to blow up at her...when he just started laughing, "What's so funny?"

"5,000?" he laughed more.

"We'll _never_ pay that off!" she cried, staring at him.

"I know," he nodded, still laughing, "We'll have to work _70 years_ you mad, bloody woman."

Foon blinked, looking at him cautiously, this was _not_ what she was expecting her husband to do, how he would react, "You're...not cross?"

"Does it matter?" he smiled at her.

This entire trip had really put things in perspective for him. Right now they were on a ship, on the brink of crashing into the Earth, one of the, quite possibly few, survivors...and they were together. He'd seen the exact same look in the Doctor's eyes when the man looked at Angel with how he felt right now. He and his wife were together and alive and that was really _all_ that mattered at the moment. Vone bill or not, they were _alive_ to pay it.

"Look at us. You drive me barmy. I don't _half_ love you...Mrs. van Hoff. Come here," he pulled her to him, hugging her as they laughed.

~8~

"What happened?" Angel heard Rickston ask as she got up on the other side of the passage, her and Astrid able to hear the van Hoffs laughing as well, "Did they find a donut?"

"Doctor," she turned to call through the passage to the Doctor, "We should be able to clear some of it from this side!"

"Just tell us if it starts moving," Astrid added, before glancing over to see Bannakaffalatta lying down, panting, "Bannakaffalatta, what's wrong?"

"Shh," he held up a finger.

Astrid looked at Angel who nodded, getting to work on starting to clear the passage while Astrid knelt beside the little red man, "What is it?"

"Can't say."

"Are you hurt?"

"Ashamed."

"Of what?"

"Poor Bannakaffalatta," he lifted his shirt to reveal circuitry around his middle.

"You're a _cyborg_ …"

"Had accident long ago. Secret."

"No, but everything's changed now. Cyborgs are getting equal rights. They passed a law back on Sto. You can even get _married_."

"Marry _you_?"

"Well, you can buy me a drink first," she smiled, "Come on. Let's recharge you."

Angel glanced over as Astrid pushed a button on Bannakaffalatta's torso, frowning as she stared at it a moment before shaking her head, a smile coming to her face when she caught sight of something hanging in the door behind Bannakaffalatta and Astrid, something that the Doctor would rather enjoy. She chuckled to herself though the other two didn't seem to notice.

"Just stay there for a bit," Astrid told the alien.

"Tell no one."

"I promise," Astrid said as she rejoined Angel, the two of them getting to work.

"What's going on up there?!" the Doctor shouted.

"I think Bannakaffalatta and I just got engaged," Astrid remarked.

~8~

Frame attempted to bandage himself when the comm. whistled. He glanced at it, his eyes widening as he saw the call was NOT coming from the Doctor, and turned quickly to patch it through, "This is the bridge!"

"This is Kitchen Number 5," a man called.

Frame breathed a sigh of relief, more survivors, "How many of you are there?"

"Six of us, just about. Are we the only ones left alive, sir?"

"No. There's more on Deck 19. Hold on, if I reverse the scanner..." he looked at the diagram of the ship on a scanner, seeing red dots all around, a smile forming on his face at the numbers he was seeing, "No, 50...60 people still onboard ship! Hold on. I can see you. Kitchen Five, there you are," he let out a little laugh of joy, "Listen, everyone's heading for the bridge. Don't go portside, there's no way. Can you make your way starboard?"

"We're stuck. The doors have sealed. We can't get out," there was a sound of a wheel on the door turning, "No, wait a minute. It's opening. There's someone on the other side…Host. We've got Host!" the man cheered, "The Host are still working."

"Oh, that's _brilliant_ ," he beamed, "Tell them to clear a path up to the bridge," but his smile slowly faded when there was nothing but silence on the other end of the comm., "Did you get that?" still silence, "Kitchen Five report," and more silence, "Hello? Kitchen Five?" he jolted back as screams came over the comm., the red dots representing the lives of those onboard blinking out...

"It's the…"

"Report!"

And not just in the kitchen, but all over the ship!

~8~

"Almost done!" Morvin called up to the Doctor.

"Good, good, good," he nodded, turning to the comm., needing to check in, needing to know how much time they had, "Mr. Frame, how's things?"

"Doctor, I've got life signs all over the ship but they're going out one by one," Frame reported.

"What is it?" he frowned immediately, hearing the man's words, the words Angel had heard in her mind, repeated, this was NOT a good sign in any case, "Are they losing air?"

"No. One of them said it's the Host. It's something to do with the Host."

"Doctor!" Angel shouted, her voice slightly distant through the passage, "Tell them to get back! Quickly!"

"What?" he turned to look through the passage.

"Tell Morvin and Foon to get back _now_!"

"It's working!" Morvin cheeed.

The Doctor's eyes widened as he rushed down just in time to see the Host take Morvin by the throat.

"Kill," it said, "Kill. Kill."

"Turn it off!" the Doctor called.

Foon tried, "I can't! Doctor!"

"Go!" he shouted, jumping down the last step and flashing the sonic at the Host as Foon ran to stand on the steps, "Lock! Double deadlock!" he lowered the screwdriver and moved to pry Morvin free with his bare hands instead, "Ok, go upstairs!"

"Run, darling, run!" Foon yelled as Morvin was freed.

"Information: kill, kill, kill..." the Host turned to them.

"Foon!" Morvin gasped as they ran up the stairs, "Foon!"

"Rickston!" the Doctor yelled, following them, "Get them through!"

"No chance!" Rickston shook his head before going through the narrow passage himself.

"Rickston!" Mr. Copper glared, nearly spitting the man's name.

"I'll _never_ get through there," Foon pointed at the passage.

"Yes, you can. Let me go first," he shoved himself in the hole, pushing things aside to make more room as he went.

The Host went after the Doctor, slowly, jerking, still partially damaged, giving him time to run to the comm., "It's the Host!" he warned Frame, "They've gone berserk! Are you safe up there?"

~8~

Frame turned to see the Host heading for the open door to the bridge, repeating, "Kill. Kill. Kill."

He leapt forward and closed the door just in time, but catching a Host hand in the doorway.

~8~

Angel and Astrid were pulling Foon out of the passage when she shouted, "No, I'm stuck!"

"Come on, you can do it!" Astrid encouraged.

"It's going to collapse!" Mr. Copper called, getting up and grabbing a lever to use as wedge, hefting a portion of the passage up, before glaring at Rickston, "Rickston, vot damn it, _help me_!"

"No...way," he breathed, panting from exertion, as Foon made it through.

"Morvin, get through!" the Doctor shouted on the other side as Morvin struggled to do so, being just a bit larger than his wife.

"Kill," the Host came nearer, "Kill. Kill."

The Doctor raced around behind Morvin, "Doctor, he's stuck!" Astrid told him.

"Mr. van Hoff, I know we've only just met but you'll have to excuse me," the Doctor said, shoving Morvin through from the back.

"That's it!" Astrid cheered as she and Angel pulled him through, "We've got you."

"Doctor, hurry!" Angel cried, her hearts racing when she looked through the passage to see the Host right behind the Doctor.

"Information override!" he shouted, turning to face the Host, "You will tell me the point of origin of your command structure!"

"I can't hold it!" Mr. Copper groaned.

"Information: Deck 31."

"Thank you," the Doctor grinned at the Host before he scrambled through the hole, shouting "Let go!" as soon as he was clear and out the other end.

Mr. Copper let go of the lever and crushed the Host that had tried to follow the Doctor beneath the wreckage.

"Well done!" the Doctor cheered as he got to his feet, patting Mr. Copper on the back, "Oh good team!"

He was about to say more when he felt himself being tugged to the side, rather forcefully, and looked over to see Angel was dragging him over to a nearby door. He frowned, feeling a swarm of emotions rolling off her, "Angel..."

But he was cut off once more when Angel just pointed up, stopping in the doorway. He looked up to see a sprig of mistletoe hanging over them before he was tugged down, not by his bowtie, but by the lapels of his suit, right into a kiss with Angel. He had to smile into it, he HAD to, this kiss...he'd been _dying_ for it since they'd ended up back on the _Titanic_. And it was _perfect_ , with Angel, and mistletoe, and Angel, and a good long kiss, and Angel, and Christmas, and did he mention it was _Angel_ he was kissing? It didn't even matter to him that the humans were staring at them, wondering how on Earth they could be kissing and following some daft tradition when their lives were on the line and the Host were set to kill the passengers.

"Do we _really_ have time for this?!" Rickston snapped, interrupting their moment.

But the Time Lords didn't jump apart at his shout, only slowly came to an end for their kiss, the Doctor's eyes closed as he rested his forehead on Angel's, "Rule 408, always waste time when you don't have any," Angel murmured, smiling, her hearts calming at seeing the Doctor alright.

Just then...she'd felt such _fear_ , looking through the passage to see the Host _right behind him_ , knowing she was too far away to be of any real help. It was just like in Old New York all over again! She _knew_ the Doctor was capable of handling himself, of surviving, but...it still _terrified_ her whenever he was alone or the target of an enemy. She hated being away from him or too distant to get to him in time, to pull him out of the way of attacks. She'd needed that kiss as badly as he had, to reassure herself that he was alright.

' _I'm always alright,_ ' he whispered in her mind, ' _Actually..._ ' he opened his eyes to look into hers as they fluttered open, his hearts skipping a beat at the happiness he saw reflected in her brown orbs, ' _I'm rather BRILLIANT right now after that,_ ' he gave her a wide grin that made her blush, ' _So...seems the bowtie isn't really an issue then is it?_ ' she blushed more, ' _I just need to make sure my next coat has lapels to it then?_ '

And now she was as red as her hair.

He laughed, lifting her chin to kiss her again, quite a few times, peppering her face with small pecks really till she laughed loudly at him. He loved that blush though, he loved knowing HE could make her blush like that. It pleased him to know he had _that_ profound of an affect on her, much like she did him.

His whole Universe really _did_ revolve around her.

~8~

Frame turned to see the hand of the Host still moving and grabbed a handle, pulling, causing the door to fully shut and seal, cutting the hand off in the process. He looked through the window to see the line of Host just... _waiting_.

~8~

The group ran into the next room to find themselves in the kitchens, much to the delight of the van Hoffs, "Morvin, look, food!" Foon exclaimed.

"Oh great," Rickston bit out sarcastically, "Someone's happy."

"Don't have any then," Morvin glared as he and Foon made their way to the table with some treats and nibbles on it, the Doctor heading to the comm. in the back of the room instead.

"Mr. Frame, you still there?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes, sir, but I've got Host outside," Frame answered, "I sealed the door."

"They've been programmed to kill. Why would anyone do that?"

"That's not the only problem, Doctor," Frame sighed and the Doctor could practically imagine the man rubbing his face, "I had to use a maximum deadlock on the door, which means...no one can get in. I'm sealed off. Even if you _can_ fix the _Titanic_ , you _can't_ get to the bridge."

"Yeah, right, fine," the Doctor rolled his eyes, "One problem at a time. What's on Deck 31?"

"Um, that's down below. It's nothing. It's just the Host storage deck. That's where we keep the robots."

The Doctor looked down at the scanner attached to the comm. as Frame brought up a diagram of the ship, "Well, what's that?" he put his specs on as Angel walked over to him, a small plate of food in her hands, "See that panel?" he squinted at a black streak in the image, "Black. It's registering nothing. No power, no heat, no light."

"Never seen it before."

"100 percent shielded. What's down there?"

"I _knew_ there was something else," Angel muttered beside him, frowning at the mark.

"I'll try intensifying the scanner," Frame called.

"Let me know if you find anything," the Doctor replied, removing his specs, "And keep those engines going!" he ordered, switching off the comm. as he turned around to see Angel holding out the small plate of food to him with a smile on her face, "Thanks," he said, taking her hand and moving to sit on a few crates. He took a nibble of some fruit before holding the plate out to her, she shook her head.

"Eat something," Astrid insisted as she walked over to them with her own plate of food, "You might be a Time Queen from Gaddabee but you need to eat."

"I'm just not hungry is all," she smiled at the woman's concern. She reminded her quite a bit of Martha and Rose, and even that Donna Noble woman, an excellent combination. Hmm...Donna Noble...she often wondered how the ginger was, well of course she would! Donna was the co-founder of Gingers United! Perhaps she should ask the Doctor if they might check in on the woman, see how she was doing, how she was coping after everything that happened the last Christmas. They still needed to have that pub quiz after all...though she supposed it would have to wait till the Doctor found some other hermits to play with.

They fell into a comfortable silence when Astrid remarked, "So, you look good for 903 and 797."

"You haven't seen us when we've just woken up," Angel remarked, "I think I nearly gave Martha, our friend, a heart attack once," Astrid laughed, "No, seriously, my hair was all stuck up, looked like my head was on fire!"

Astrid had to wipe a tear away from her eye she was laughing so hard. The woman's hair really was a brilliant red, she _could_ picture it looking like fire if it was all stuck up.

"Doctor, it must be well past midnight, Earth time," Mr. Copper said, joining them, "Christmas Day."

"So it is," the Doctor smiled, "Merry Christmas," he looked at Angel softly, lifting her hand to kiss the back of it, "Merry Christmas Angel, oh!" he shouted suddenly, making Astrid and Mr. Copper jump but Angel just smile, "A Christmas angel," he nodded, kissing Angel's forehead as well, "That's what you are, my good luck charm and my Christmas angel."

"You're my angel too you know," she whispered back to him, resting her chin on his shoulder to look at him, "My spaceman angel."

He leaned forward, giving her a peck, "I like that title."

She beamed, "I like the title of Mate as well," she told him.

"I _love_ it," he breathed, staring into her eyes, "The Doctor, Mate of the Angel," he winked, "Perfect. Like you."

She blushed at that as Astrid sighed, smiling as she watched them, they were clearly very much in love and...she could tell that they were both alone, that they needed each other, that they were good for each other, took care of each other. She wished she had someone like that, not even a man or a beau or anything but just...someone to look out for her, someone she could look out for as well. Well, she'd wanted an adventure for 'Christmas' and she'd certainly gotten one, maybe she'd get that as well?

"This Christmas thing, what's it all about?" Astrid shook her head out of her thoughts.

"Long story," the Doctor sighed, turning his head away from Angel's eyes but resting his against hers to look at Astrid, "We should know, we were there. We got the last room."

Angel rolled her eyes at him, "You were really rude then too."

He laughed, "I wasn't about to let my Mate sleep out in a barn."

"But if the planet's waking up, can't we signal them?" Mr. Copper frowned, "They can send up a rocket or something."

"Earth doesn't have spaceships like that," Angel told him.

"No, I read about it. They have shuffles, space shuffles."

"Mr. Copper, this degree in Earthonomics...where's it _from_?" the Doctor asked him suspiciously.

"Honestly?" he laughed, sitting down.

"We won't tell a soul," Angel reached out to put a hand on his arm in promise.

"Mrs. Golightly's Happy Travelling University and Dry Cleaners," he said, mopping his brow with a handkerchief, carefully avoiding the still healing cut on his head.

"You…you _lied_ to the company...to get the job?" Astrid's stared at him.

"I…I wasted my life on Sto. I was a travelling salesman, always on the road and I reached retirement with _nothing_ to show for it. Not even a home. And Earth sounded so... _exotic_."

"Hmm, I suppose it is, yeah," the Doctor nodded.

"How come you two know it so well?" Astrid turned to them.

"We were sort of..." the Doctor struggled to explain without having to really explain it, "A few years ago, were sorta made...well, sort of homeless. And, um there was the Earth."

Angel squeezed his hand, ' _I love our current home though,_ ' she told him, ' _The TARDIS is all we need. Her and each other._ '

He smiled at her for that. He really didn't know how she did it, made everything bad seem...not quite so bad. Made everything ok again. She was remarkable.

"Thing is, if we survive this, there will be police and all sorts of investigations," Mr. Copper added, "Now the minimum penalty for space-age fraud is ten years in jail. I'm an old man. Well, I won't survive ten years."

There was a sudden bang on the door, a dent appearing in it.

The Doctor dropped his food and, in an instant, pulled Angel with him to the opposite door, "A Host! Move! Come on!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow! We're almost done with this episode! Only two more and then we get Donna :) I'm really excited for her and quite a few of the original scenes I have planned for this series :) Speaking of scenes...I think I'm going to do what I did here for the specials, add at least one original/fluffy scene to each chapter to make up for splitting the episode so much :)


	4. Voyage of the Damned: The Attack

More and more dents appeared in the door as the pounding continued, Angel nearly wincing at how tightly the Doctor was holding her hand, but she couldn't fault him, she was holding HIS just as tightly in fear of the Host behind them. They both knew how strong the robotic angels were and how quickly they'd be able to break through the solid metal door. Neither of them felt calm with that being so near at hand. Adding to that the fear of the other getting injured or harmed echoing back into them through the emotional connection...well...their hearts were racing more than normal as a result. Angel glanced back to see the group scrambling out after them, following them into the next room only for them all to realize they'd run right into the engine space of the ship, the only way across to the other side being a makeshift bridge of a fallen strut above the engines.

"Is that the only way across?" Rickston asked, staring at the strut in horror.

"On the other hand, it is a way across," the Doctor said, optimistic, his thumb absently making circles on the back of Angel's hand in a bid to calm himself. It was working, if just a little, they DID have a way across now, a way to get farther away from the Host, and that was ALL he wanted at the moment.

"The engines are open," Astrid warned, glancing down at the burning engines below them.

"Nuclear storm drive. Soon as it stops, the _Titanic_ falls."

"But that thing, it'll never take our weight," Morvin shook his head, staring at the beam solemnly. He and Foon had barely made it through the small passage of debris, there was NO way they'd make it across that beam in one piece. For all the joking and teasing, they DID realize they were both rather large individuals, the beam wouldn't hold their weight for even a moment.

"You're going last, mate," Rickston shouted.

"It's nitrofine metal," the Doctor said, trying to keep them all calm, "It's stronger than it looks."

"All the same, Rickston's right," Morvin stepped forward, "Me and Foon should…"

Angel quickly pulled Morvin back as the piece of metal near the edge of the railing gave way, nearly dropping him down and into the engines. The two of them toppled over, Angel falling to her knees at the force she'd needed to use to move the man while Morvin fell onto his backside, panting, while the other passengers jumped back with a start.

"Morvin!" Foon gasped, kneeling at her husband's side as he stared in shock at the place he'd just stood, at the place that had nearly sent him to his death had it not been for the Doctor's ginger woman.

"I _told_ you!" Rickston called, "This thing couldn't even take him."

"Just shut up!" Mr. Copper glared.

The Doctor, though, just ignored him, kneeling before Angel and hugging her tightly, making sure she hadn't hurt herself in her fall, "You ok?" he asked her, seeing her rubbing her knee.

She winced, trying to move it, she'd landed rather hard on it, not really expecting to have overcompensated as much as she had in stopping Morvin. She lifted up the hem of her dress, not noticing the Doctor's breath catch in his throat at her bare leg being revealed, and frowned, seeing a rather nasty looking bruise already starting to form on her knee, "Not so much," she answered, feeling a sense of déjà vu with all of this. It was just like in Albion Hospital, when they'd fallen through the floor and she'd twisted her ankle...perfect...just perfect timing on her part.

The Doctor hissed quietly through his teeth as he saw the bruise on her knee, the tears just barely in her eyes at the pain she was only just starting to feel. He swallowed hard, forcing down the rising anger at Morvin, of all people, for being the cause of his Mate's hurt. He knew it wasn't the man's fault, that _Angel_ had been the one to pull him back, but...she was hurt! And she was hurt because of _Morvin_!

' _Theta,_ ' her voice cut through his head, sensing his mounting ire. And, just like that, his anger faded, her voice cutting through all his building rage, like a beacon in the night, the light in the dark. Her voice, so gentle and calm and forgiving...SHE didn't blame Morvin, he couldn't either.

' _Sorry,_ ' he smiled apologetically at her for having nearly lost control of himself just then.

She simply smiled back at him, understanding, emotions were high right now, what with the Host, and the ship, and the beam-bridge, she knew how he was. For all his control, he had surprisingly little of it when it came to her, ' _It's alright,_ ' she reached out a hand and he helped her up, but she winced, trying to put her weight on her leg.

' _Let me..._ ' he moved to touch her knee but she stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her with a frown, ' _What..._ '

' _Don't,_ ' she pleaded sofly, ' _Please, don't waste your regeneration energy like that._ '

' _It's not a waste,_ ' he promised her, ' _Not on you, nothing is ever a waste when it comes to you._ '

She smiled, ' _I feel the same for you,_ ' she told him, ' _But it's just a bruise Theta, it'll heal. I CAN walk on it, it'll just be...stiff for a while._ '

' _But it HURTS you,_ ' he shook his head, not understanding why she'd WANT to be in pain when he could heal her instantly. When she hurt, he hurt for her.

' _And it'll hurt me more if you end up using too much of your regeneration energy on me healing little things like cuts and bruises,_ ' she reached out, taking his hand and kissing his scarred knuckles, ' _I want you around for a good long while._ '

' _And I want you around happy and healthy,_ ' he countered, ' _NOT in pain._ '

Her smile turned into a small smirk, ' _Then hold my hand,_ ' she held hers out to him again and he took it instantly, ' _There,_ ' she nodded, ' _You see, no pain at all now,_ ' he stared at her a moment, ' _I never feel that when I'm around you,_ ' she told him, making him smile, ' _You always take the pain away, you always make me feel better._ '

It was HIS turn to lift her hand and kiss it this time, ' _I feel the same with you,_ ' he repeated her words a bit.

Unfortunately, their touching little moment was interrupted by the sound of a banging getting louder, "Doctor, I rather think those things have got our scent," Mr. Copper shifted uneasily.

"I'm not waiting," Rickston shook his head and started across the bridge.

"Careful!" the Doctor shouted, turning to watch Rickston but not letting go of Angel's hand, "Take it slowly!"

There was a rumble and the ship rocked, nearly throwing Rickston off, "Vot help me."

"You're ok! One step at a time. Come on, you can do it."

~8~

"Kill," the Host banged on the door outside the kitchen, "Kill. Kill."

They finally broke through and marched across it...

~8~

"They're getting nearer!" Mr. Copper warned, spotting the Host approaching.

"Seal us in," the Doctor muttered before sonicing the door they'd come from with one hand, truly keeping to Angel's request of holding her hand, he was NOT about to let it go any time soon if he could help it.

"Leaving us trapped, wouldn't you say?"

"Never say trapped, just inconveniently circumstanced."

"Oh."

"I'm ok!" Rickston shouted, halfway across.

"But how are _we_ gonna make it?" Foon wept as she held onto her husband who had his arms tightly around her, still panting at how close he'd come to falling into the engines.

"Rickston's right," Morvin sighed, shaking, terrified. If the floor couldn't hold HIM, how was that beam going to hold him AND Foon? He wanted to live, yes, he didn't want his wife to die, no, but...he couldn't bear the thought of someone else being trapped, being put in danger because of him and that was exactly what would happen if he set foot on that beam. He didn't want to put his life above someone else's.

He wasn't Rickston.

"Yes!" the man in question whooped, having made it, "Oh yes! Who's good?!"

"Bannakaffalatta, you go next," the Doctor delegated.

"Bannakaffalatta, small," the alien nodded, jumping on the beam.

"Slowly!"

There was a pounding on the door, "They've found us!" Mr. Copper shouted.

"Astrid, get across right now," the Doctor turned to the young woman.

"What about you?" Astrid looked at the small group still there.

"Just do it," the Doctor insisted, "Go on," Astrid darted off to the beam as the Doctor turned to Mr. Copper, "Mr. Copper, we can't wait. Don't argue," Mr. Copper nodded and followed after her, "Morvin, Foon, you've got to get across right now."

"We _can't_!" Morvin shouted.

"Doctor!" Rickston yelled, "The door's locked."

"We really don't have the time to argue," the Doctor turned back to them.

"The beam won't hold us," Foon wept. She had never been ashamed of her weight before, Morvin loved her exactly how she was as she did him, but this was the first time she was regretting her weight. If she had been smaller...

Angel looked down, not wanting to leave the couple, knowing how much she didn't want to ever leave the Doctor, she couldn't bear to ask the two to separate...and then her eyes widened, "What about these?" she pulled out the teleport bracelets from her pocket, the TWO teleport bracelets.

The Doctor shook his head, "The teleports are offline and we can't risk diverting any of the power to the engines with us in the same room as them..."

"Doctor, I can't open the door!" Rickston shouted, "We need the whirring key thing of yours!"

"Couldn't you reconfigure them?" Angel tried again. She didn't know if it was possible to do that to a teleport bracelet, but...she could hope. Why else would she have taken them if they couldn't help in some way now? And, the Doctor was brilliant! Surely HE could figure out a way to make them work to help Morvin and Foon...

The Doctor looked at them a moment before his eyes widened, an idea striking him, "Yes! Brilliant!" he beamed, "Oh you are brilliant!" he kissed Angel quickly, "Really," he told her, taking the two bracelets from her...and kissing her again, "Just amazing!" and flashed the sonic across them, before kissing her once more, "Good luck charm, all I'm saying," and handing them back to the van Hoffs and trying to kiss her once more, only for her to press her finger to his lips, stopping him.

"This is beginning to be a problem for you isn't it?" she asked him, amused by his seemingly lack of control in kissing her.

He just grinned widely, flashing her her favorite grin, "Oh yes," he agreed, but not seeming at all like he was sorry or worried about that. He just gave her finger a kiss as well.

"We should really focus right now though," she reminded him, nodding at the van Hoffs.

"Right!" he shouted, turning to them, "Yes, sorry," he gestured at the bracelets still in their hands, "Put those on."

"What good are they?" Foon asked miserably.

"Teleporters work by taking your atoms, dividing them in one spot, and regrouping them in another space," the Doctor explained very quickly, "I've tweaked the bracelets to where it'll cancel out half your atoms. Like an antigravity booster, your weight have been reduced to a half. Enough so that you're safe to cross. Now come on!" he turned, pulling Angel by the hand, over to the beam.

Morvin and Foon quickly put the bracelets on and followed them.

The Doctor lifted Angel's hand in both of his, kissing the back of it, before reluctantly letting go of it, not wanting to unbalance her on the beam. Angel took a breath and stepped on, making her way after Mr. Copper, then the Doctor, Foon, and Morvin stepped on after her. The metal creaked under the weight of the seven of them, but held, the bracelets clearly doing their job.

"Too many people!" Bannakaffalatta warned.

"Oi!" the Doctor pointed at him, "Don't get spiky with me! Keep going!"

"It's gonna fall!" even Astrid agreed.

"It's just settling! Keep going!"

And suddenly...it became quiet as the pounding stopped.

"They've stopped…" Astrid breathed.

"Gone away?" Bannakaffalatta asked.

"Why would they give up?" the Doctor wondered.

"I don't think they have," Angel remarked, a pit starting to form in her stomach again. The silence was very unsettling, when silence fell...it was never a good thing.

"Never mind that," Rickston groaned, annoyed at how they kept stopping and not getting him the key, "Keep coming!"

"Where have they gone?" the Doctor looked around, worried it might be some sort of trick or trap and he was NOT about to take that chance with Angel right beside him.

Angel, though, glanced up, only Mr. Copper seeming to notice.

"Where are the Host?" the Doctor repeated.

"I'm afraid..." Mr. Copper said, looking up as well, "We forgot the tradition of Christmas, that angels have wings!" he pointed and they all looked up to see about five Host gliding down from above.

"Information: kill," the Host reached for their halos.

"Arm yourselves!" the Doctor yelled, grabbing a pipe as he stepped beside Angel, determined to protect her, "All of you!"

Everyone scrambled to take up pipes and sheets of metal, using what they could to protect themselves from the Host when they threw their halos at them like flying circular saws. They managed to bat them away but one grazed the Doctor's arm as he tried to keep the Host away from Angel, not wanting her to have to pick up a weapon. He knew she could defend herself, they'd both been in the War, she _could_ use a weapon even if it was a simple pipe but...that just _wasn't_ her. And it shouldn't be, she shouldn't have to fight and defend herself, that was HIS job, HE was the one who was meant to protect her from all harm, up to and including robotic angelic things trying to kill them.

Mr. Copper cried out as a halo struck his leg when Astrid fell to her knees, "I can't," she panted.

Angel carefully made her way past Mr. Copper and to the woman's side, the Doctor backing up to cover her as much as he could. He wasn't happy she'd left his side, that he couldn't protect her as easily, but Astrid was clearly terrified and, much like he wouldn't be the Doctor if he didn't give people a chance, she wouldn't be Angel if she didn't try to help someone. He understood why she'd gone to Astrid, even if all he wanted to do was pull her back behind him.

"Bannakaffalatta stop!" the alien tossed down his weapon just as Angel made it beside Astrid, "Bannakaffalatta proud! Bannakaffalatta, cyborg!" he lifted his shirt and discharged a sort of energy, disabling the Host, causing all but one to fall into the engine, the lone Host falling onto the strut between the Doctor and Foon.

"Electromagnetic pulse took out the robotics," the Doctor muttered, glancing back at the Host between him and the two humans, "Oh, Bannakaffalatta, that was _brilliant_!"

Bannakaffalatta collapsed as Angel helped Astrid over to his side, "He's used all his power!" Astrid gasped, checking the little red alien over.

"Did good?" he asked, smiling up at Astrid.

"You saved us," Angel told him gently.

"Bannakaffalatta happy."

"We can recharge you, get you to a power point and just plug you in!" Astrid replied.

"Too late," Bannakaffalatta shook his head.

"Maybe not," Angel muttered, lifting the alien's shirt and pressed the same button she had seen Astrid press before, Astrid's eyes widened a small golden spark jumped out of Angel's finger and into the button.

Bannakaffalatta gasped, feeling his power systems restoring, just enough that he would be able to get to a power point.

"Was that an EMP transmitter?" Mr. Copper called as he moved to crouch down behind the girls as they helped a slightly startled and confused Bannakaffalatta sit up, "I used to sell these things. They'd always give me a bed for the night in the cyborg caravans. They're good people. As soon as we get you charged up we can use it as a weapon against the rest of the Host. Bannakaffalatta you've saved us all!"

"Bannakaffalattta proud," he beamed, especially when Astrid pulled him into her arms and hugged him tightly, not caring what Angel had done just that the little cyborg was alright again.

"Watch out!" Rickston shouted, pointing behind them. They turned to see the Host behind the Doctor start to move and stand, Morvin and Foon backing up in fear.

"Information: reboot."

"Use the EMP!"

"It's too drained!" Mr. Copper replied, "He won't survive another round."

"So?"

Astrid glared at Rickston for that.

"No, no, no," the Doctor called, turning to the Host as it advanced on him, "Hold on. Override loophole security protocol...10! 666! Oh. 21, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8? Um, I dunno, 42! Uh, 1!"

The Host stopped and just stood there, "Information: state request."

"Good...right..." the Doctor nodded, letting out a little breath of relief, relaxing more when he felt a hand slip into his, Angel had returned to his side, he could face anything now, that's how he always felt when she as with him, invincible, "You've been ordered to kill the survivors, but why?"

"Information: no witnesses."

"But this ship's gonna fall on the Earth and kill everyone. The Human Race have _nothing_ to do with the _Titanic_ so that contravenes your orders, yes?"

"Information: incorrect."

"But why do you want to destroy the Earth?"

"Information: it is the plan."

"What plan?"

"Information: protocol grants you only three questions. These three questions have been used."

"Well, you could have _warned_ me," he glanced at Angel over his shoulder, "YOU could have too you know."

"I can't see everything!" she huffed a little.

That really _was_ an irritating limitation on her abilities, even she had to admit that. She didn't know how it worked, why it worked, why she saw what she saw and didn't see other things...she supposed she could only hope that, one day, she'd be strong enough to see everything. Though, to be quite honest, she doubted she'd ever see EVERYTHING that was coming, foreknowledge was dangerous, even for precogs or Visionaries.

"Information: now you will die," as the Host raised its halo the Doctor tensed, his jaw tightening as he stiffened, feeling Angel inhale sharply at the Host about to attack him. Well...that wouldn't do at all would it?

He tightened his grip on the pipe in his hand and whacked the Host hard, upsetting its balance and, at the same time, disabling its antigravity mechanics with the well aimed blow, sending it falling down into the engine where the others had gone.

"Doctor," Angel called, tugging his hand, "We need to move now," the beam creaked, "It won't last much longer."

"Right!" the Doctor nodded, "Come on, everyone, shift!"

They quickly made their way to the end of the beam, onto the other side where Rickston was waiting. Angel held out a hand and pulled Morvin off the beam moments before it collapsed as the Doctor turned to the door, sonicing it open.

"Get up to Reception One," the Doctor turned to the group, taking charge once more, "Once you're there, Mr. Copper, you've got staff access to the computer. Try and find a way of transmitting an SOS. Astrid, you're in charge of Bannakaffalatta. You get him powered up, make sure he doesn't burn himself out. Once he's powered up, he can take out Hosts within fifty yards but then he'll need sixty seconds to recharge. Got it?" Astrid nodded, "Rickston, take this," he handed over the sonic, "I've preset it. Just hold down that button. It'll open doors. Do _not_ lose it! You got that? Now go and open the next door. Go on! Go!"

"Alright!" Rickston huffed, walking off.

"Morvin, Foon," the Doctor handed a first aid kit to them, "You're in charge of injuries, start by patching up Mr. Copper's head. Astrid, where's the power point?"

"Under the comm.," she said.

The Doctor nodded and led her and Bannakaffalatta over to it, lifting the alien's shirt and positioning him so that the power point fell in the center plate of his mechanics, "When it's ready, that blue light comes on there…" he pointed to the plate.

"You're talking as if you're not coming with us."

"There's something in Deck 31," Angel said quietly, having followed them, "We have to find out what."

"What if you meet a Host?!"

"Well, then we'll just...have some fun, eh?" the Doctor smiled a tense, almost dark, smile.

Astrid shivered, that man...he was so happy and cheerful and kind...that smile...it didn't suit him but...in a way...it did. It was protective. It was a smile that promised he would NOT let any harm befall someone, and she knew that someone was Angel. That man would protect her with his life, he'd do anything to keep her safe. No matter what, he'd save her. That smile...it promised just that, that no one would harm a hair on the girl's head if _he_ had anything to say about it. It made her shiver a bit, to be honest, and made her scared for anyone who dare even tried to hurt Angel...not that she could see anyone doing that, the girl was far too kind for anyone to wish her harm. But...then again...the Host were robots, they didn't have a sense of kindness or emotion or feeling.

They were dangerous.

Though not, it seemed, as dangerous as the Doctor in protecting his Mate.

"Sounds like you do this kind of thing all the time," she murmured, shaking her head from her thoughts.

"Not by choice," the Doctor countered, "All we do is travel. That's what we are, just travelers. Imagine it. No tax, no bills, no boss, just the open sky."

"I'm sort of...unemployed now and I was thinking the blue box is kinda small. But I could kinda squeeze in. Like a stowaway."

"We can't promise it'll always be safe," Angel warned her, reaching out to squeeze the girl's hand, not really warning her _away_ from the idea but just...making her aware of what she might be getting into.

"So? I've got no one back on Sto, no family, just me. So what do you think? Can I come with you?"

Angel looked at the Doctor to see him smile and nod at her, leaving her beaming as she turned back to Astrid, "We'd love it," she nodded, " _Finally_ I get another companion," she nudged the Doctor's stomach, making him laugh and beam at seeing her so happy about that. It had been her desire for Martha to be HIS companion, knowing he needed it more, but he could tell she _really_ wanted another companion and he'd promised himself, the next one would be hers.

The ship shifted suddenly and the Doctor quickly moved to the comm., "Mr. Frame, you still with us?"

"It's the engines, sir!" Frame called back, "Final phase. There's nothing more I can do. We've got only eight minutes left!"

"Don't worry, I'll get there."

"The bridge is sealed off!"

"Yeah, yeah, working on it. I'll get there Mr. Frame, somehow," he cut the comm. and looked over to see the EMP light flashing, "All charged up?" he turned back to the group, "Mr. Copper, look after her."

"Astrid, look after him," Angel added.

"Morvin, Foon, take care of each other."

"Bannakaffalatta, keep an eye on them all."

"Rickston, um...look after yourself. And we'll see you again, promise."

"See you later!" Astrid called, busy helping Bannakaffalatta up and checking herself to make sure he was ready, "And good luck!"

"You too!" Angel called back.

~8~

Rickston opened the door to the next room, dashing through it only to see three Host standing there, "Do it!" he shouted, running back to them.

Bannakaffalatta lifted his shirt, firing out a wave of energy, stunning the Host till they collapsed. Astrid quickly moved behind him, catching him as he stumbled back at the sudden dip in power. The rest of the group stood there a moment before cheering as Astrid led Bannakaffalatta to the nearest power point.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel ran into a small kitchen to see two Host before them and then two behind them. He grabbed a pot by the handle, ready to use it was a weapon, while Angel still had a pipe she'd grabbed on the beam, not that the Doctor had let her use it, not that she really wanted to, even against a robot, she wasn't exactly strong so the pipe wouldn't help much.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" the Doctor yelled, "Security protocol one! Do you hear me? One! One!" the Host paused, "Ok, that gives me three questions. Three questions to save our lives, am I right?"

"Information: correct."

The Doctor lowered the pot, sullen, "No, that wasn't one of them. I didn't mean it. That's not fair. Can I start again?"

"Information: no."

"No, no! No, no, no. That wasn't one either. Blimey…" he looked at Angel, who was just shaking her head at him, not really seeming cross or worried that he'd wasted two questions but more...a little amused at him than anything, "One question left. One question," he sighed and turned to the Host, knowing he needed to be careful, one question to save his and Angel's lives, this _had_ to work, or else it would be HIS fault she got hurt...again.

Angel reached out and took his hand, squeezing it to remind him she was still there, alive and well _because_ of him.

He smiled at her, lifting her hand to kiss it before focusing on the Host, "So, you've been given orders to kill the survivors but survivors must therefore be passengers or staff, but not us. We're not passengers. We're not staff. Go on, scan us. You must have bio-records. No such persons onboard. We don't exist therefore...you _can't_ kill us. Therefore, we're stowaways and stowaways should be arrested and taken to the nearest figure of authority. And I reckon the nearest figure of authority is on Deck 31. Final question: am I right?"

"Information: correct."

"Brilliant," he grinned, "Take me to your leader."

"Did you _really_ just say that?" Angel asked him, laughing.

He beamed at her, "I've always wanted to say that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, slightly less than 5,000 words for this chapter :( but still more than the 4,000 promised :) Next chapter I can promise will be more than 5,000 plus the fireplace scene PLUS an extra little surprise development in Angel's powers right at the end to make up for it :)


	5. Voyage of the Damned: The Crash

The humans and Bannakaffalatta burst into reception, Bannakaffalatta immediately using his EMP to take out the Host that were standing there, "Rickston, seal the doors, make the room secure," Astrid commanded, "Mr. Copper, keep an eye on the Host. Morvin, get Bannakaffalatta all charged up. Foon bandage Mr. Copper's head, I need to check the computer. We need that SOS," she ran over to the computer and tried to turn it on, only to see the power was out. She hit it hard with her fist in frustration but it didn't help. She sighed and turned around to see the teleport bracelets and ran to the comm., "Bridge, this is reception!"

"Who's there?" Frame replied.

"Astrid Peth. I was with the Doctor and Angel. Tell me, can you divert power to the teleport system?"

"No way. I'm using everything I got to keep the engines running."

"It's just _one_ trip. I need to get to Deck 31."

"And I'm telling you no!"

"Mr. Frame...this is for the Doctor and Angel. They've gone down there, on their own, and I...I can't just _leave_ them. They've done _everything_ they can to save us. It's time we did something to help _them_."

A moment later, "Giving you power."

Astrid beamed and grabbed a teleport bracelet, turning to Mr. Copper, "Mr. Copper, I'm gonna find them," she slipped it on, Morvin and Foon taking theirs off to be safe, not wanting to get sucked along with her and drain what little power there was left in the ship.

"Good luck," he nodded.

"Be safe," Bannakaffalatta added, "Pretty girl."

Astrid smiled as she was teleported out.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel were led by the Host to a storage facility on Deck 31 where there was much structural damage as well as some fires, "Now _that_ is what you call a fixer-upper," he remarked to Angel before taking a step in front of her and calling out, "Come on then, Host with the most, this ultimate authority of yours, who is it?" two doors hissed, opening behind them, and they turned, the Doctor quickly making his way back to Angel's side, "Oh, that's clever. That's an omnistate impact chamber," he explained to Angel, "Indestructible. You can survive anything in that, eh?" a vehicle slowly moved out of it, "Sit through a supernova or a shipwreck. Only one person can have the power and the money to hide themselves onboard like this and I should know, 'cos..."

"My name is Max," Max Capricorn replied, wheeling out in a giant life-support system, the only thing keeping his human head alive.

The Doctor frowned as Max's tooth glinted, "It _really_ does that?"

"Who the hell are _they_?" Max looked at the Host.

"I'm the Doctor," he grinned, putting an arm around Angel's shoulders, "And this is my Mate, the Angel."

"Hello," she nodded at him, feeling just a bit uneasy with how the man seemed to be responsible for all the destruction and death, bust still...she had to be polite, it seemed this New New her was even more so than her last self, possibly to try and compensate for the Doctor's rudeness, "Nice to meet you."

"Information: stowaways."

"Well..." the Doctor shrugged at the title.

"Kill them," Max spat.

"Oh, no, no!" the Doctor leapt in front of Angel, his arms up, "Wait, but you can't. Not now. Come on, Max...you've given me so much good material like...how to get _ahead_ in business. See 'head?' 'Head in business?' No?" he looked at Angel. He knew now really _wasn't_ the time for jokes, the wrong word could set the man off, but...he needed something to lighten the mood, something to calm him, to convince him Angel wasn't in as much danger as they clearly were.

"No," Angel gave a little laugh even as she shook her head.

"Oh, ho ho, the office joker," Max laughed, "I like a funny man. No one's been funny with me for years."

"I can't think why," he remarked.

"176 years of running the company have taken their toll."

"Yeah, but...nice wheels."

"No, a life-support system in a society that _despises_ cyborgs. I've had to hide away for _years_. Running the company by hologram."

Angel frowned, "But Astrid said Sto is changing the laws on cyborgs," she told him, "You're getting all sorts of rights now, apparently you can even get married and..."

"Far to little," he cut in with a sneer, "FAR too late. Host! Situation report."

"Information: _Titanic_ is still in orbit."

"Let me see," Max moved past the Doctor and Angel as they stepped out of his way, the Doctor pulling Angel a bit more to his side, not wanting her anywhere near the man, "We should have crashed by now. What's gone wrong?" Max looked over the edge and down at the engines, "The engines are still running! They should have stopped!"

"If the engines stop, the ship will destroy the Earth!" Angel frowned at him. She really didn't like people who had such little respect for human life, for life in general. And this man had already proven that he didn't care at all given what he'd let happen to the ship and passengers.

"I don't understand," the Doctor shook his head, "What's the Earth got to do with it?"

"This interview is terminated," Max turned back to them.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor shouted as Angel glanced over to see Astrid peek around a corner, "Hold on! Hold on! Hold on! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! I can work it out. It's like a task. I'm your apprentice. Just watch me. So...business is failing and you wreck the ship so that makes things even worse? Oh yes! No. Yes. The business isn't _failing_ , it's _failed_. _Past_ tense."

"My own board voted me out. Stabbed me in the back."

"If you had a back. So..."

Angel frowned as Astrid crept closer, before inhaling sharply...

'... _Mr. Capricorn! I resign!_...'

'... _He's cut the break line!_...'

... _Astrid fell towards the engines, falling, falling_ …

Angel let out a breath, her eyes wide as she looked over, her hearts racing at seeing Astrid sneaking into a forklift in the back.

No!

No, no, no, no, no! She had to _do_ something!

"You scupper the ship, wipe out any survivors in case anyone's rumbled you and the board find their shares halved in value," the Doctor realized, far too focused on trying to distract Max and keep the man's attention away from Angel to realize what Angel had just seen, "Oh, but that's not enough. No, 'cos if a Max Capricorn ship hits the Earth, it destroys an entire _planet_. Outrage back home. Scandal! The business is wiped out."

"And...the whole board thrown in jail for _mass murder_."

"While you sit there, safe inside the impact chamber."

"I have men waiting to retrieve me from the ruins and enough off-world accounts to retire me to the beaches of Pentaxico Two where the ladies, so I'm told, are very _fond_ of...metal."

"So _that's_ the plan?! A retirement plan. 2,000 on this ship, 6 billion underneath us, all of them slaughtered. And why? Because Max Capricorn is a _loser_."

"I _never_ lose."

"You can't even sink the _Titanic_."

"Oh, but I can, Doctor. I can cancel the engines from here."

And then the alarms went off.

~8~

"Engines closing," the computer announced in the bridge.

"No, no, no, no!" Frame rushed to an instrument panel to try and stop it.

"Engines closing."

~8~

"What's happening?" Rickston called as the alarms blared.

~8~

"You can't _do_ this!" the Doctor yelled.

"Host, hold them," Max commanded as two Host grabbed the Doctor and one Angel, pulling them back, "Not so clever now, Doctor," Max wheeled back over to them, smirking right at the Doctor's glaring face, "A shame we couldn't work together. You're rather good. All that banter yet not a word wasted. Time for me to retire. The _Titanic_ is falling. The sky will burn. Let the Christmas inferno commence. Oh! Oh, Host! Kill them."

"No!" the Doctor struggled, needing to get out, needing to get Angel away, especially when one of the Host not holding them removed its halo and readied its attack…

"Mr. Capricorn!" Astrid shouted, they looked over to see her in a forklift, the machine now on and buzzing, "I resign," and then she floored it, rushing at Max.

"Astrid, don't!" Angel gasped, seeing her vision playing out before her and she was still trapped, unable to help her!

Astrid collided with Max's life-support, lifting the front of it so his rear tires spun, falling to a standoff. The Host turned and threw its halo at Astrid instead in a bid to stop her, but missed, hitting a cable on the side of the lift instead.

"He's cut the break line!" the Doctor's eyes widened in horror.

"No!" Angel cried, hearing the vision playing out nearly entirely, she knew what was coming next and she HAD to stop it! Too many people had died already! She pulled and pulled, gasping when she managed to yank one of her arms free from the Host, which seemed distracted, waiting for instructions on what to do with the girl in the forklift but receiving none.

Astrid looked over at them, solemn but determined, before raising the forklift, getting Max off the ground and stepped on it, wheeling them towards the edge.

"Astrid!" Angel twisted her other arm out of the Host's grip and _ran_ to the lift. She reached in and grabbed the woman's arm, yanking her out of the lift only _a moment_ before it toppled over the edge, taking Max down with it, the two women falling to the ground.

"Angel!" the Doctor shouted, running over to them, the Host letting him go, skidding on his knees to his Mate's side as she and Astrid knelt on the ground, panting at what had just happened and nearly happened.

"She was going to fall," Angel breathed, showing him the vision she'd had, Astrid, falling to the engines, her hand outstretched for them to save her, the moment feeling far too final for them to have come up with a way to get her back, "I…I couldn't let it…"

The Doctor pulled her into his arms in a fierce hug before they both turned and pulled Astrid in as well, the girl starting to cry at how close she'd come to her own end.

~8~

" _Titanic_ falling," speakers went off all over the ship, "Voyage terminated."

~8~

Frame took the wheel, trying to control the ship.

~8~

Rickston, Mr. Copper, Bannakaffalatta, Morvin, and Foon all held onto each other as the ship rocked.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel walked hand-in-hand away from the wreckage behind them with Astrid, when two Host stepped up to them. The Doctor stiffened, eyeing them, wary of what they might try to do to him and Angel, but they stood there waiting. He smirked, relieved at that, before he stepped forward and held out his arms for the Host to grab him. Two more Host stepped over, each taking a hold of Angel and Astrid, the Doctor watching the one holding Angel closely to ensure it didn't try to do anything, waiting a moment longer till it turned to him, awaiting commands, before he was satisfied. He snapped his fingers and the Host started to rise. The Host holding the Doctor raised their fists and broke through the ceiling above them, which ended up being the floor of the bridge, startling Frame before gently depositing the Doctor on the floor, the Host with Angel and Astrid flying through moments later and doing the same, the Doctor immediately pulling Angel out of its grasp, knowing the girl didn't like robots nor did she trust them.

"Deadlock broken," the computer confirmed.

"Ah, Midshipman Frame at last!" the Doctor smiled as he turned to the man, his arm around Angel.

"Uh, but...but the Host!" Frame pointed at the robots who still just stood there.

"Controller dead they divert to the next highest authority and that's me."

"There's _nothing_ we can do. There's no power. The ship's gonna _fall_."

" _Titanic_ falling," the speakers called, as though hearing Frame's words.

The Doctor moved to the wheel, "What's your first name?"

"Alonzo."

"Oh my God," Angel shook her head, laughing at that, highly amused, as the Doctor just looked at the man, surprised.

"You're _kidding_ me…" the Doctor breathed.

"What?" Frame frowned, not sure why they were both looking at him like that just because of his name.

"Something wrong?" Astrid asked, darting away from the Host as well to stand closer to Frame.

"He's always wanted to say this," Angel beamed at the Doctor, clearly happy for him about whatever he was to say.

The Doctor cheered, "Allons-y Alonzo!" and spun the wheel, "Whoa!" the ship lurched, Angel lunging for the control panels to keep her footing as the Doctor frantically tried to steer, the ship falling straight towards Earth.

Frame screamed, falling back to the wall, Astrid toppling with him, the two falling to the floor in a heap as the room shook.

The ship started to burn on entry.

An alarm started to sound.

Angel ran forward, switching it on, the computer springing up before them, showing the impact zone as somewhere in London.

The Doctor sighed, shaking his head at the precise location, "Ah…Angel?" he nodded at the wheel, indicating he was a bit busy at the moment and needed help.

Angel nodded and ran to the comm., dialing out, "Hello, yes, hello, who's this?" she nodded, listening, "Oh! Hello Nancy, nice to meet you..."

"Angel," the Doctor cut in.

"Right, sorry," she blushed, "Um...yes, hello Nancy, could you get me Buckingham Palace please?"

~8~

"And as dawn rises over Great Britain, it seems that, this year, the city of London has _escaped_ alien intervention," a BBC news reporter smiled, "The Queen has remained in residence in defiance of extraterrestrial attack."

~8~

"No, Howard," Angel shouted over the phone at the man from the Palace refusing to listen to her, "Please, just _listen_! This is the Angel..." she blinked, "Yes, yes the..." she smiled, "The Doctor's Mate, hello!" before shaking her head, "No, I mean, please begin Security Code 771! And get yourself out of there too! Quickly!"

~8~

The Queen rushed down the red carpeted hallway of Buckingham Palace, her hair in curlers, in her dressing gown, as a footman carried a corgi, "Open the door!" the footman cried as they neared the entrance.

~8~

The old news seller stepped out of his kiosk and looked up at the sky, glaring as the _Titanic_ became visible, "Don't you dare, you aliens!" he shook his fist up, "Don't you dare!"

~8~

"Engine active," the speakers reported, "Engine active."

The Doctor pulled back on the wheel as hard as he could, sending poor Frame and Astrid, who had JUST managed to pick themselves back up...right back against the wall again as he strained, finally regaining control of the steering.

The ship just _barely_ missed Buckingham Palace.

"You did it!" Angel cried, delighted, as the Doctor looked on, stunned at their luck.

~8~

The group in reception looked at each other, shocked and relieved, as the ride smoothed out.

~8~

"Thank you, Doctor!" the Queen waved as the ship headed back to outer space, "Thank you Angel. Happy Christmas!"

~8~

The Doctor laughed as they saw the stars again, Angel turning and pulling him into a hug.

"Oh my good luck charm!" he turned, spinning her around, the ship set for the stars once more, "Didn't I say?!"

~8~

"Yes, oh yes!" Rickston shouted as they all hugged each other, Morvin and Foon sharing a delighted kiss.

~8~

Frame started ringing the ship's bell with Astrid, both of them laughing and whooping, "Whoo-hoo!"

The Doctor grinned and pulled Angel into a celebratory kiss.

~8~

The Doctor sat beside Frame on the floor as Angel and Astrid tended to his wound with a small kit the Doctor had found, "Used the heat of re-entry to fire up the secondary storm drive," the Doctor explained to them.

"Unsinkable," Angel smiled at him, "That's you in a nutshell."

"Only because of you," he insisted gently, taking her hand in both of his to kiss each knuckle.

She just laughed and leaned in, kissing him once more.

"We made it," Frame sighed with a smile, relieved.

"That we did," the Doctor nodded as he pulled away from the kiss, squeezing Angel's hand, knowing that she had played a rather large part in all of that. He knew, if it hadn't been for her, Astrid and Morvin at least wouldn't be with them, both would have fallen into the engines if not for her.

She was incredible. Truly a Christmas angel.

Angel smiled and blushed, looking away as she heard his thoughts.

He just smiled.

~8~

"Rickston!" the Doctor grinned as the four of them strode into reception, the Doctor's arm around Angel's waist, "Sonic!" Rickston tossed it to him and he caught it, sticking it back into his coat pocket, "How is everyone? Alright?"

"The engines have stabilized," Frame added as they nodded, "We're holding steady till we get help and I've sent the SOS. A rescue ship should be here within twenty minutes. And they're digging out the records of Max Capricorn. It should be quite a story."

"They'll want to talk to all of us, I suppose," Mr. Copper murmured.

"I'd have thought so, yeah."

Mr. Copper nodded sadly and wandered off. Angel frowned and walked over to him, tugging the Doctor with her as he let his arm trail from her waist, along her arm, to her hand, "I think, uh, one or two inconvenient truths might come to light," he sighed, rubbing his head as they and Astrid joined him, "Still, it's my own fault, and then years in jail is better than dying."

"Doctor...I never said...thank you," Rickston walked over, interrupting Mr. Copper to hug the Doctor. He moved to hug Angel as well, but the Doctor pulled her back behind him, glaring at Rickston so darkly that the man took a step back, able to see that the Doctor was NOT pleased with him at the moment, "The funny thing is..." he chuckled nervously when the Doctor's look didn't lighten up even as he stepped away, "I said Max Capricorn was falling apart. Just before the crash, I...sold all my shares, transferred them to his rivals. It's made me _rich_. What do you think of that?"

"I think you're a right old ass!" Astrid glared.

"But a _rich_ ass," Rickston countered.

"And I think that's _terrible_ ," Angel frowned at him.

Rickston smirked, "Terribly fortunate," he laughed before his vone rang, "Salvain? Those shares, I want them triple-bonded and locked," he turned and walked off as the small group just shook their head at him.

"Of all the people to survive, he's not the one you would have chosen, is he?" Mr. Copper eyed the man, "But if you could choose, Doctor, if you decide who lives and who dies..." he shrugged, "That would make you a monster."

"But that won't _ever_ happen," Angel agreed slightly, wrapping an arm around the Doctor, smiling up at him, "I won't let it."

The Doctor smiled back at her and kissed her head before turning to Mr. Copper, "Mr. Copper..." he turned to the teleport and pulled out four bracelets, "I think you deserve one of these."

Mr. Copper smiled and put it on, as did the Doctor and Angel, Angel tossing the last one to Astrid. The Doctor leaned over and started the machine, Frame saluting them before they disappeared.

~8~

The TARDIS sat waiting, in an open space outside London, in the snow. The Doctor, Angel, Mr. Copper, and Astrid walking across it as the snow fell around them, "So, Great Britain is part of, uh, 'Europee' and just across the British Channel you've got Great France and Great Germany?" Mr. Copper asked.

"No," Angel corrected lightly, spinning around with her hands out to catch the snowflakes, the Doctor smiling as he watched her, beaming really, at seeing her so happy, "It's France and Germany," she ran to the Doctor and took his hands, pulling him to spin with her, "Britain is the great one!" she cheered, laughing.

"Oh," Mr. Copper nodded, following along, "And they're all at war with the continent of Ham-erica?"

"No," the Doctor pulled Angel closer, turning their spinning into a small waltz in the falling snow, "Well...not yet," he nodded to himself, getting distracted by his dance but unwilling to stop, "Uh...could argue that one," he dipped Angel and pulled her up into his arms with a laugh as they arrived at the TARDIS, "There it is," he patted the box, "Survive anything."

Angel smiled and stroked the corner of it lightly, "She's a tough old girl, isn't she?"

"You know, between you and me, I don't even thing this snow is real," Mr. Copper turned to Astrid.

"What is it?" Astrid frowned up at the white particles.

"Er...the ballast from the _Titanic_ 's salvage entering the atmosphere."

Astrid grimaced at that.

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed as he looked up, his arms moving around Angel, pulling her back to his front as they looked up, regardless of what it was, it was beautiful, "One of these days it might snow for real."

"So, I…I suppose you'll be off?" Mr. Copper asked them, looking at the trio.

"No," Astrid sighed.

"Astrid?" Angel looked at her questioningly, putting her arms over the Doctor's as he swayed side to side, his chin resting on her head.

Astrid smiled apologetically, "I know what it's like to not have anyone to look after you," she looked at the two of them softly, "You've both got each other, but Mr. Copper…he hasn't got anyone."

"You are a magnificent woman Astrid Peth," Angel said, stepping away from the Doctor and hugging the woman, realizing what she was saying.

She was sad, yes, that the woman she'd offered to be her next companion had said no in the end, again, but she really did believe that it would happen when it was meant to. And Astrid's reason, wanting to look after Mr. Copper, be there for him, well, she couldn't argue with that, it was an amazing and selfless thing the girl was doing.

She squeezed her once more, pulling away to rest her hands on Astrid's shoulders, "And if you ever want to, the offer will _always_ be open."

"Thank you," Astrid smiled, nodding, before stepping over to Mr. Copper.

"Mr. Copper," the Doctor said, "That credit card…may I see it?"

He gave it to him, "Well, it's just petty cash, spending money. It's all done by computer. I…I didn't really know the currency so I thought a million might cover it."

"A million?" the Doctor blinked, " _Pounds_?"

"That enough for trinkets?"

"Mr. Copper, a million pounds is worth _50 million credits_!"

"How much?!" Mr. Copper gaped.

"50 million and 56."

"I…I've got _money_!" he nearly choked.

"Oh yes," Angel smiled, laughing, as the Doctor gave him the card back.

"Oh my word," he blinked, still unable to believe it, "Oh my vot! Oh my goodness me! Ya ha!"

"It's all yours, planet Earth," the Doctor told them, "Now that's a retirement plan. But just you be careful, though."

"I will," he nodded, "I will. Oh, I will."

"WE will," Astrid promised, linking her arm with Mr. Copper's.

"And…if it's not too much trouble," Angel added, "Would you be willing to transfer 5,000 credits to Morvin and Foon? I think it would help them."

"Oh of course," Mr. Copper nodded, having heard their small discussion before the Host attacked, "Yes, yes, of course!"

"No interfering," the Doctor warned, pointing at them, "We don't want any trouble."

"Just have an incredible life," Angel finished, stepping over to Mr. Copper, the man just staring at the card. She reached out and took his face in her hands, "You both deserve it," she leaned in and kissed his forehead, right on the bandage Morvin and Foon had placed on his cut. Smiling as she pulled away, hoping what she'd wanted to try, what had been in the back of her mind since the Doctor had healed the cut on her own head with his regeneration energy after getting back from the end of the Universe, might work and set their lives off to a good start.

"But I can have a house, a proper house, WE can have a house!" Mr. Copper turned to Astrid, excited, knowing it would be the BOTH of them, Astrid had wanted to stand by him BEFORE he learned about the money, the girl genuinely wanted to stay with him, "With a garden, and…and a door, and..." he looked back at them, "Oh, Doctor, Angel, I will made you _proud_!" he hugged them quickly before running back to Astrid, "And…and we can have a kitchen with chairs, and windows, and lace..."

They watched him skip off, laughing with Astrid, "Um, where are you going?" the Doctor called.

"Why, I have no idea!"

"No, us neither," the Doctor smiled at Angel before they stepped into the TARDIS and disappearing into the night.

~8~

The library had been the perfect place to bring up a nice cozy fireplace, it was just so vast and warm and being surrounded by books just made them feel so cozy. The plush armchair that the TARDIS had provided was even better...because there was just _one_ , which meant they got that cuddle right at the start. The fire roaring before them, the small tray of cupcakes and hot chocolate beside them, and the warm fleece blanket draped over them truly made the moment.

The Doctor let out a content sigh, pressing a kiss to Angel's hair as he held her closer, she was half-on his lap, half-beside him as they curled up on the armchair, his arms around her, her head resting on his shoulder, the blanket pulled around them. They hadn't bothered to change from their _Titanic_ attire, just wanting that cuddle after the experience they'd had. Though, the Doctor _had_ discovered, the bowtie really WASN'T an issue any longer because Angel had simply untied it as soon as they had sat down and tugged him down by the ends. So really, it meant he should always wear some sort of tie apparently, which was fine with him, if it meant he got kisses out of it.

"I'm sorry," he murmured as she ate the last of her cupcake.

She looked up at him, confused, and he had to chuckle at the small bit of icing at the corner of her mouth, taking a napkin to wipe it off for her, "Thanks," she smiled, swallowing, "But...what are you sorry for?"

"This Christmas," he sighed, "Wasn't exactly the best was it?"

He'd been so determined to see her having a _good_ Christmas, but it just...hadn't happened. It was just...he loved Christmas so much, he always seemed to end up on Earth for it, and he just wanted her to love it too because, really, that holiday seemed to have been _made_ for her with everything it represented.

"It wasn't so bad," she shrugged, winding her arms around him, snuggling into him.

He let out a small laugh, not fully believing her, "Really?"

She nodded, closing her eyes, just letting the warmth of the fire and his arms relax her, "Life is a mess of good things and bad things," she murmured, "The good don't always make up for the bad, but the bad don't always ruin the good. As long as you can find one truly _good_ memory in the bad, then the bad aren't so bad after all."

He smiled at that, thinking on how true that was, she was literally his one good thing in all the bad, his light in the darkness, "And you found good in the other Christmases too?"

"Mhmm," she nuzzled the side of his neck as she snuggled closer, making him close his eyes at the sensation, his breath hitching as he bit back a groan, that was almost as 'bad' as when she'd play with his hair, "First, we started the Mating process. Then we met Donna and I got to found Gingers United...we really should go check up on her soon, see how she is."

He nodded, "And this one?"

She let out a little yawn, already falling asleep, something he couldn't fault her for given how little of it she'd had the past year, "I got a good long cuddle with my Mate, JUST what I wanted for Christmas," she cracked a tired eye open at him, "Are you sure YOU'RE not psychic?"

He laughed, "I'm nowhere NEAR as special as you," he told her, meaning it, "But I _do_ promise, the next Christmas will be better."

She hummed lightly, "Take me for a shark-drawn carriage ride and we'll call it even."

He shook his head at her, smiling at how she must be half-asleep by now, a shark-drawn carriage ride? But still, if that was what she wanted for Christmas, he'd get it for her, no question, somehow, he would.

This Christmas may have been a bust, but he was determined, one day, he'd give Angel a wonderful Christmas.

~8~

"Mr. Copper please," Astrid stood before him, a small bit of white cloth and a bandage in one hand with a small bowl of water in the other, "Just let me clean it, please?"

Mr. Copper sighed and sat down on the bed of the 'hodel' room they'd gotten for the night. It was a rather nice place, two beds, very soft beds, with thick blankets, and a little chocolate on the pillow! Astrid had insisted on cleaning the cut on his head and putting a new bandage on it, but it stung terribly and he just wanted to leave it alone, but that girl was determined to see him taken care of.

"If you must," he waved her on.

Astrid beamed, placing the items down on the bed beside him and gently peeling back the bandage...only to gasp, her eyes wide, "It's gone!"

"What?" he frowned.

"Your cut...it's gone!"

He stood and looked at a mirror on the wall, leaning forward a bit to see that the cut on his head really had gone! Just... _vanished_. As though it had healed over...

"But...how?" he shook his head.

Astrid frowned, thinking on it...

~8~

_Angel reached out and took Mr. Copper's face in her hands, "You both deserve it," she leaned in and kissed his forehead, right on the bandage Morvin and Foon had placed on his cut..._

~8~

Astrid blinked and started to smile, working it out, _Angel_ had done it, somehow...the girl had done it!

"That girl really IS an angel isn't she?" she breathed, shaking her head, before she just started laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww...fluff! You HAVE to love the Doctor and Angel :) They are just SO sweet! I'm really trying to keep the relationships my OCs have with the Doctor different and unique, like...the Professor is flirt, Evy is fondness, and Angel is fluff...lol, 3 'f's :) AND! Angel healed him! She actually managed to heal someone! I think the thought got stuck in her head after the Doctor tried to heal her with his regeneration energy, like...she's made the connection that the Vortex is MUCH more powerful than that and not as 'deadly' to their future regenerations and she HAS been starting to see it in a less dangerous manner and more a possible help so...she wanted to try it, just a little thing for now BUT! I CAN say...she'll be healing at least 1 more person before this story is over, won't say who though :)
> 
> But...next chapter we get DONNA! YAY! Gingers United!
> 
> ...I really want that on a t-shirt now lol :)
> 
> I will say this...the subplot for this story...started in this episode. A very, VERY small thing that (I'm hoping) you won't even notice till much later. Little things will be happening with Angel that will build up and up and up till you go OMG(!) in...The Poison Sky.
> 
> And now that we've gotten to the end of the first episode, we get the 'Pyramid.' Just to refresh, my 'pyramid' is the 3 episodes I'm super-excited about because I think something happens in them that is important to Angel's story/her relationship with the Doctor. The 2, is my most looked forward to 2-parter episode either because something happens in it or it's just my favorite episodes lol. And the 1 is the episode that I liked least and probably struggled with so if it's really bad, that's why. So here it is:
> 
> 3...The Doctor's(?) Daughter, Midnight, Journey's End  
> 2...Silence in the Library/Forests of the Dead (...who is River Song?)  
> 1...Turn Left (even though I secretly loved it, I only say 'least' because it's Doctor-lite)


	6. Partners in Crime: Health and Safety

Holding a red folder, one Donna Noble walked down a crowded street, dressed in a black suit, striding with purpose, on a mission. She was ready and set to go, investigating the Adipose Industries, a company she'd seen on the web as having quite...shady and...weird happenings. And that was JUST what she needed, weird and almost 'alien' things because she needed to find the Doctor and Angel again, she _needed_ to. She was going _mad_ stuck on Earth, wanting to see what was out there, the wonders of the Universe but just... _stuck_...

~8~

Angel and the Doctor strolled arm-in-arm down the busy streets, just enjoying their time, taking in the sights of the people and buildings around them, everyone fine and happy without the threat of an alien invasion at Christmas looming over them any longer. The Doctor had, surprisingly, wanted to _stay_ in the TARDIS, apparently the cuddle was far too good for him to want to get up and move, content to just be lazy, curled up in the armchair with Angel in his arms. But she had been far too excited to be able to get out there and move about again. After months of being too weak to do much of anything on her own she just wanted to run around and meet people and have adventures. He'd laughed and said she was turning into him, and she'd just countered with how incredible it would be to be as mad, ridiculous, and wonderful as him. Well, after that, how could he say no? Not that he really could anyway, all she ever had to do was _ask_ him and his will would be broken instantly the moment she looked into his eyes.

It really _was_ incredible for him to think on that. He had stood up to gods, to monsters, to the Time Lords themselves and held his ground, his resolve firm, his will iron, but one pleading look from Angel and he crumbled. But still, the smile that lit up her face when he did was more than enough to make up for that.

Angel's smile though was missing at the moment as she rubbed her head a bit with her forefinger and thumb, a small frown on her face instead, "You alright?" the Doctor asked as he looked down at her.

"Yeah, fine," she smiled at him, putting her hand on his arm, her other arm linked through his.

It was just a headache, nothing to worry about.

~8~

Donna looked up at a high building before her, smirking at the sign that read 'Adipose Industries,' before walking towards it purposefully.

~8~

Angel frowned as they walked past a high building, slowing down as she eyed it, "That building there…"

"What about it?" the Doctor looked over at it, squinting as he made out a sign, 'Adipose Industries' before it.

"I dunno," she shook her head, "Something about it…"

He grinned, taking her hand, "Let's investigate!" she laughed as the Doctor pulled her towards it, nearly getting them both run over in his excitement to cross the street and start their latest adventure.

~8~

Donna stepped through the main entrance of the building, "Good morning, Adipose Industries," an employee greeted her as she simply nodded in return.

~8~

The Doctor flashed the sonic at a fire exit in the back of the building and they slowly entered.

~8~

"Donna Noble, Health and Safety," Donna flashed her ID card at the security officer she passed.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel walked along a deserted corridor, the Doctor flipping the psychic paper open at a security guard, "John Smith and Angela Jones, Health and Safety."

He glanced at her after they'd passed the man, "You know...we really should call you Angela Smith now."

She laughed, "We're not married."

"We're _Mated_ though," he reminded her.

Well, _almost_.

They still _did_ have that last step of the process left but...given how sick Angel had been the last year, he _really_ didn't want to rush into it, he didn't want to push her. They would both have to be at the top of their game when they reached that point. The physical union...if the stories were to be believed...was one of _the most_ incredible, intimate, intense moments of a Time Lord's long life, and that was saying something. That moment where their soul touched another's, where they were as joined to another being as they would ever be...it was like nothing else in the Universe. That first time...when you could feel what your Mate was feeling, their emotions and love and desire rushing through you...you strove to make the experience everything to them and they did the same in return. It was a very...and he blushed to think...fulfilling moment, reaching the point of ecstasy with your Mate, seeing the Universe exploding in your mind, being with them in every single sense...

It was often said that the Mated couple...well, he blushed _more_ at that...wore themselves out, the moment and connection was that extreme. Everything they were was put into that moment, forging that last connection, merging their souls so completely that one couldn't exist without the other except for one completely abhorrent way. It was a physically demanding and trying experience and both Mates needed to be fully ready and committed, able to sustain the connection right to the end.

He was ready, he was sure of it, he wanted Angel terribly, his blood literally sang for her, his hearts beat for her, his mind thought only of her without the distraction of an adventure present. He could never get enough of her and, he doubted he ever would, even after they completely finished the Mating, such was the love and desire he felt for her. But Angel, despite how she seemed to be better than the Year-That-Never-Was...he didn't want to risk it. HE wanted to be completely and totally, 100 percent certain she was fully recovered and the epitome of health before he led her down that path of establishing that final string that would bind them together.

He could wait.

And it would make the moment that much better.

"And I was Angela Smith as a _human_ ," she nudged him out of his thoughts, thankfully seeming to have missed where his thoughts had gone, "As John Smith's _wife_. The only other name I could be called is Angie Harkness and we're not at Torchwood," she nodded, "And I _like_ being Angela _Jones_ ," she smiled, "Remember, Smith and Jones, there's no better team."

"Can't argue that," he laughed, winding his arm around her waist with a grin.

Angela Jones and John Smith, there really WASN'T a better team.

~8~

Donna sat in a lecture room with about three dozen people, slightly bored and a bit confused as she listened to the head of the industry, a Miss Foster, give her spiel about their 'amazing' products, like she hadn't heard THAT 10,000 times a day on TV adverts.

"Adipose Industries," Miss Foster smiled, "The 21st century way to lose weight. No exercise, no diet, no pain. Just lifelong freedom from fat. The Holy Grail of the modern age. And here it is," she held up a small pill, "You just take one capsule, one capsule, once a day, for three weeks. And the fat, as they say..."

"The fat just walks away," the computer called behind her.

"Excuse me, Miss Foster, if I could?" a young black woman called out, "I'm Penny Carter, science correspondent for _The Observer_. There are a thousand diet pills on the market, a thousand con men stealing people's money. How do we know the fat isn't going straight into your bank account?"

"Oh Penny, if cynicism burnt up calories, we'd all be as thin as rakes," Miss Foster chuckled, "But if you want the science, I oblige."

"Adipose Industries," the computer began a presentation, the display beginning to portray various scientific formulas and components, "The Adipose capsule is composed of a synthesized mobilizing lipase, bound to a large protein molecule..."

~8~

The Doctor and Angel peered through a small window in the projection room above the lecture hall, watching along, "The mobilizing lipase breaks up the triglycerides stored in the adipose cells, which then enter..."

The Doctor glanced up and flashed the projector's handler the psychic paper as the man walked in, "Health and Safety...film department."

"100 percent legal, 100 percent effective," Miss Foster smirked.

"But, can I just ask, how many people have _taken_ the pills to date?" Penny called again.

"We've already got one million customers within the Greater London area alone. But from next week, we start rolling out nationwide. The future starts here. And Britain will be _thin_."

~8~

In the call center of Adipose Industries the phones were ringing and ringing and ringing, "Good morning, I represent Adipose Industries…" the employees recited as they struggled to keep up.

Donna strolled over to a male employee on his phone, "That's a three week course of pills for a special price of 45 pounds."

"Donna Noble, Health and Safety," she whispered, sitting down before him, "Don't mind me."

~8~

The Doctor and Angel headed over to a female employee in the call center, just across a small aisle from the man, "We deliver within three working days…" the woman was responding to a caller.

"John Smith, Angela Jones, Health and Safety," the Doctor smiled as they sat down, "Don't mind us."

~8~

"The box comes with 21 days' worth of pills, a full information pack, and our special free gift, an Adipose Industries pendant..."

Donna looked at a pendant on a chain that the man had handed her.

~8~

"It is made of 18 carat gold, and it's yours for free. No, we don't give away pens, sorry. No, I can't make an exception, no."

The Doctor looked down at the small pendant in his hand with a frown, seeing Angel looking at it the same way. He knew enough from her own admissions that she probably didn't understand the technology that was clearly put into the alien pendant, but the fact that she was frowning...he knew she had a feeling about it, and if she was _frowning_ , then the pendant _couldn't_ be good.

~8~

"I'll just need to keep this for testing," Donna whispered, putting the pendant in her jacket pocket, "And I just need a list of your customers. Could you print it off?"

"Suppose so," the man nodded, finally putting down the phone.

"Where's the printer?"

"Just over there, by the plant."

She stood up and looked around, squinting, "Which plant, that plant?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Lovely," she sat down.

~8~

The Doctor stood up, "That's the printer there?" he pointed.

"By the plant, yeah," the woman nodded.

"Brilliant," he grinned, sitting down.

~8~

Donna stood up, "Does it need a code? Last place I worked, the printer needed a code."

"No, I can do it from here."

Donna nodded, sitting down once more.

~8~

The Doctor popped up again, "Has it got paper?"

"Yeah, Jimbo keeps it stocked."

He nodded, when Angel pulled him down _just_ as Miss Foster walked in with two bodyguards in tow, "Excuse me, everyone, if I could have your attention," everyone stood except them.

~8~

Donna peeked over the divider and looked at Miss Foster, "On average, you're each selling forty Adipose packs per day. It's not enough…"

Donna crouched back down.

~8~

"I want one hundred sales per person per day," the Doctor crept up, "And if not, you'll be replaced. 'Cos if anyone is good in trimming the fat, it's me. Now. Back to it."

The Doctor dropped down just as Miss Foster left, "Anyway, if you could print that off. Thanks."

~8~

"So if you could just print off that list, I'll get out of your way," Donna stood up, "Lovely! Thanks, then. See you!" she turned and walked to the printer.

~8~

"Thanks then," the Doctor smiled...when the woman handed him a piece of paper, "Oh, what's that?"

"My telephone number," she smiled at him suggestively.

"What for?" he asked, sounding completely lost.

"Health and Safety. _You_ be health, _I'll_ be safety."

"Uh…" he shifted uncomfortably, his eyes wide at what the woman was implying, "I've already got a safety," he took Angel's hand, standing up, "Sorry."

The woman blushed, flustered and embarrassed, she clearly hadn't thought they were together. No wedding rings, different last names…she'd assumed they were just partners…oops.

The Doctor turned and headed to the printer with Angel just moments after Donna walked away from it, having grabbed both sets of printouts. He stopped at the printer and saw that there was nothing there before turning and going back to the woman, "Us again…"

~8~

Donna knocked on a door as a plump woman with brown hair opened it, "Stacey Campbell?"

"Who wants to know?" Stacey asked.

"My name is Donna, I represent Adipose Industries," she flashed her card, "And you're on the list of our valued customers."

~8~

Angel knocked on a door, a faint knock knock-knock knock knock pattern that made the Doctor smile, when a slightly lean man answered it, "Mr. Roger Davey," the Doctor began, "We're calling on behalf of Adipose Industries," he held up the psychic paper, "Just need to ask you a few questions."

~8~

"It's been _fantastic_ ," Stacey gushed as she preened herself, clearly getting ready for something, "I've started the pills on Thursday. Five days later, I've lost _eleven pounds_!"

"And no side effects or anything?" Donna frowned.

"No, I feel fantastic. It's a new lease of life. Now, what d'you think of these earrings," she held up a pair to show Donna, "Do they work?"

"Yeah, lovely."

~8~

"I've been on the pills two weeks now, I've lost fourteen kilos," Roger exclaimed.

" _Fourteen_ in _two_ _weeks_..." Angel frowned, "That's...the same amount every day?"

"One kilo _exactly_. You wake up, and it's disappeared overnight. Well, technically speaking, it's gone by ten past one in the morning."

"What makes you say that?" the Doctor asked.

"That's when I get woken up. Might as well weigh myself at the same time," he shrugged.

The Doctor and Angel exchanged a glance, that really didn't seem right to them, it was too...precise.

~8~

"You going on a date?" Donna asked, eyeing Stacey's clothing.

"I'm doing the opposite," she replied, almost smug, "I'm _dumping_ him. I can do better than him now. Right, I won't be long. If the taxi beeps, give me a shout," she turned and headed towards the stairs.

~8~

"It is driving me mad," Rodger explained as they stood outside his house, staring up at the burglar alarm, "Ten minutes past one, every night, bang on the dot, without fail, the burglar alarm goes off. I've had experts in, I've had it replaced, I've even phoned Watchdog. But no, ten past one in the morning, off it goes."

"But with no burglars?" the Doctor asked.

"Nothing. I've given up looking."

"Do you have a cat?" Angel wondered, out of nowhere.

"No..." Roger frowned at the odd question, "Why?"

Angel blinked, as though just realizing she'd asked that, and looked over at them, shrugging, "If there's a cat, there's a flap to go through."

The Doctor's eyes widened as he realized what she was implying. It was brilliant!

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and Roger knelt by a cat flap, the Doctor prodding it open with his sonic, "It was there when I bought the house," Roger said, "Never bothered with it. I'm not a cat person."

"No," the Doctor agreed, "I've met cat people. You are nothing like them."

"I prefer dogs," Angel commented, thinking of K9, making the Doctor grin, " _Stray_ dogs," she added, nudging the Doctor, "Dogs in need of adoption."

He laughed, "Right, right," that was her own subtle way of telling him they ought to find another companion. It seemed Astrid had left her mark on them, her desire to travel with them reminding they they currently didn't have a companion at the moment and they'd both looked forward to taking Astrid on.

"It's that what it is then?" Roger wondered, "Cats or dogs getting inside the house?"

"Well, thing about cat flaps is that they don't just let things _in_ , they let things _out_ as well."

"Like what?"

"The fat just walks away…" Angel mumbled, something about that phrase had struck her as odd during the presentation.

~8~

"Won't be long!" Stacey shouted down to Donna from the bathroom.

"That's alright!" Donna called back before sitting on the sofa. A moment later she pulled out the Adipose pendant and started playing with it, twisting it absentmindedly...

~8~

In the bathroom, Stacey's belly started moving and making strange sounds.

~8~

An alarm went off in Miss Foster's office, "We have unscheduled parthenogenesis!" she gasped.

~8~

Angel stood up and looked back at the street a moment before running off. The Doctor's eyes widened, she hadn't done _that_ in a good long while, before he started after her, turning around to yell back to Roger, "Well, thanks for your help. Tell you what, maybe you could lay off the pills for a week or so…"

And then a device in his pocket started to beep.

"Ooh, gotta go, sorry!" he pulled out the small Y-shaped device as it blinked and beeped, laughing as he ran to catch up with Angel who seemed to be heading in the same direction, "Psychic!" he beamed at her, her skills were as sharp as ever.

She just laughed, "Thief!" before taking his hand as they ran off through the night, racing to see who would lead where first, her or the device.

If he had to bet, as he'd learned from 1969, it would probably be Angel.

~8~

"Send out the collection squad," Miss Foster called into a wrist comm., "Bring them home."

~8~

Stacey gasped as a small blob of white fat broke off her stomach.

"You alright up there?" Donna called.

"Yeah," Stacey's voice trembled, staring in wide-eyed horror at the little blob.

~8~

"The Adipose has been witnessed," Miss Foster twisted an Adipose pendant, "Activating full parthenogenesis."

~8~

Stacey started breathing hard as a second blob appeared and jumped off of her to land beside the first one in the sink, both waving up at her with little arms and faces, "What?" she gasped, "What are you? What ARE you?"

Bumps started appearing _all over_ her body as the rumbling noise inside her increased.

"I like what you've done in the hall," Donna called, her voice sounding like it was getting closer, "Stacey? Are you alright? I wouldn't mind a little visit myself. Everything alright in there?" there was a knock on the door, "Only me. Do you mind if I pop to the loo? Stacey?"

"Help me! Oh my God, help me!"

"What is it, what's wrong?" Donna called, trying to get in but the door was locked, "Stacey!"

Stacey screamed and literally fell apart into about 20 little blobs...when Donna finally managed to break the door down. She looked around to see Stacey gone, but her clothes left on the floor. She gasped, seeing a little blob of white waving at her before jumping out the window.

~8~

A collection squad car drove along the street, lights flashing.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel ran hand-in-hand as they followed both the signal and Angel's intuition. The Doctor stopped, holding the device in front of him, confused when the beeping slowed, losing the signal.

"This way!" Angel shouted, pulling him down the street.

~8~

The collection car pulled up and two bald men in suits got out with butterfly nets.

~8~

Donna ran along a street, trying to find the little blob.

~8~

The Doctor ran down a lane, Angel leading the way as the device ceased working entirely.

~8~

The bald men closed a container holding the mass of the blobs and put it in the back of the van before getting in and driving off, past Donna, and then the Doctor and Angel, who jumped back, seeing the truck careening towards them. The device in the Doctor's hand pinged and they ran after it.

But they were too late, the car turned a corner and disappeared.

~8~

"Stacey Campbell?" a taxi pulled up by Donna.

"No, she's gone," she said sadly.

"Gone where?"

"She's just... _gone_."

"Aw great, thanks for _nothing_ ," the taxi pulled away, driving off...

~8~

...right past a disappointed looking Doctor and a frustrated Angel on another street.

The sensation was gone.

She rubbed her head.

"You _sure_ you're alright?" he asked.

"It's _just_ a headache Doctor," she reassured him with a laugh, it was perfectly normal and natural, even _Time Lords_ got them from time to time.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel stood on a street just one away from Donna, all of them standing there a moment longer before turning and walking away, back up their roads, away from each other.

The Doctor took Angel's hand, tugging her off as she hesitated and looked back, "Come on, I've got some medicine back in the TARDIS that should help."

Angel grimaced, "I hate medicine," it always tasted so foul!

The Doctor laughed, squeezing her hand, "Well then, I have a temporary solution that should help your head a bit."

She looked up at him, "What?"

He just grinned and suddenly pulled her towards him, kissing her deeply, right in the middle of the road, pulling her closer, making a rather fine snog out of it. Angel wasn't the only breathless one when he pulled away quite a few moments later, "Well..." he took a breath, trying to calm his racing hearts, not that it would help with Angel pressed so closely to him, "How's your head feel?"

"Fuzzy," she stated instantly, before laughing, burying her face in his chest, "The way it always feels around you."

He lifted an eyebrow at that, pleased, "Really now?"

"Oh yes," she nodded, lifting her chin to rest on his chest, looking up at him, "You _always_ make my mind go fuzzy," she lifted his hand to press the back of it to the center of her chest, "My hearts race and calm at the same time," and kissed his scarred knuckles, "And my stomach flip when you look at me with that sparkle in your eyes," she lifted her free hand and touched his cheek, "And when you kiss me...I tingle all over."

"Me too," the Doctor smiled, leaning in to kiss her again, softer, "I rather like that feeling," he murmured against her lips, not pulling away enough to remove them completely, "Like I'm being shocked in the _best_ way."

Angel just smiled up at him.

~8~

Miss Foster put her glasses on, smirking, "It seems that we have a case of industrial espionage. One touch and the capsule bio-tunes itself to its owner, but someone must have introduced a second raw capsule…" she looked at a camera footage of the offices of Adipose Industries, "Therefore, one of these people is a thief. There," she grinned, catching sight of something on the monitor, "Oh yes, there she is. Now...what should we do with her?"

~8~

Donna walked through the front door of her house, hearing her mother in another room, "And what time is _this_?"

Donna rolled her eyes, "How old _am_ I?"

"Not old enough to use a phone," her mother remarked, peering in.

~8~

Donna sat at a table in the kitchen, drinking tea, lost in her thoughts as her mother bustled about and complained, mostly about her, but that seemed to be the norm, "I thought you were only moving back for a couple of weeks. Look at you, I mean you're _never_ gonna find a flat, not while you're on the dole. And it's no good sitting there, dressed up, looking like you're job hunting, you've got to _do_ something! It's not like the 1980s, no one's unemployed these days except _you_! How long did that job with Health and Safety last? _Two days_ , and then you walk out. 'I have other plans,' well _I've_ not seen them. And it's no good sitting there dreaming, _no one's_ gonna come along with a magic wand and make your life all better."

Donna sighed as her mother nagged on, the woman didn't even realize that someone _had_. _Two_ people had come with a magic wand and offered to make her life better...and she'd...turned them down.

"Where is Granddad?"

"Where do you _think_ he is?! Up the hill. He's _always_ up the hill."

~8~

Angel laughed as the Doctor pulled her into his arms just as they caught sight of the TARDIS waiting near Mr. Davey's home, spinning her around before dancing with her.

"You really like doing this don't you?" she had to ask.

"Doing what?" he countered, mock innocently.

"Dancing with me," she explained, "And not the OTHER dancing, just...dancing..."

"Hmm," he hummed a moment, "I get to hold you, in my arms, so close I can feel your hearts beating a rhythm in time with mine, making music...I DO hear music you know, when I'm around you, I hear it."

"And what's it sound like?"

"Angels singing," he winked at her.

She laughed, "I hope it's not a bunch of MEs singing, I'm _rubbish_!" she really _was_ rather bad at singing, a bit tone deaf and off-key, but the Doctor never seemed to mind.

"I hear the most beautiful melody in the world," he murmured, pulling her closer, "One that lets me twirl you about, whisk you off your feet, and make you smile and laugh..." he nodded, "No, I don't _like_ doing this...I _love_ doing this."

She looked at him softly, "Promise me you'll never stop being so wonderful."

"You know I can't promise THAT," he bopped his head forward to tap her nose with his, "My next self could be a right old misery to everyone else but..." he trailed, smiling, "There _is_ ONE thing I CAN promise."

"What?"

He suddenly squatted a bit, his arms moving to lock around her, under her bum, before he stood, lifting her into the air and spinning around, making her laugh as she rested her hands on his shoulders, looking down at him as he cheered, "I'm never ever gonna stop being wonderful to _you_! The light of the Universe!" and she really was, she was his shining light in the darkness.

"Theta!" she squealed as he hoisted her up, just holding her above him, looking up at her with a soft smile, "Put me down!" she looked around, realizing she'd been a bit loud just then, and spotted an old man in the distance on top of a hill, looking at the stars. She hoped her shouts hadn't disturbed him.

"Hmm..." the Doctor seemed to think on it, "Nope!"

"What?" she laughed, looking back at him.

"I will _not_ put you down...unless..."

"Unless what?"

"It'll cost you."

"Cost me what?" she raised an eyebrow at him, amused.

"A kiss...or three."

She shook her head, smiling at him, "Now there's a price I'll gladly pay," she remarked before she leaned down and kissed him, the Doctor slowly letting her slide through his arms till she was on the ground, not letting her go though.

He would _never_ let her go.

~8~

Donna walked up a hill into a sort of junkyard to see her grandfather walk out of a little tin shed, "Aye, aye here comes trouble," he smiled at her, "Ha."

"Permission to board ship, sir?" she asked.

"Permission granted. Was she nagging you?" he sat down on a folding chair before a telescope.

"Ha ha. _Big time_. Brought you a thermos," she handed him one with something nice and hot to drink.

"Oh, ta."

"You seen anything?" she looked up.

"Yeah, I've got Venus, there with an apparent magnitude of minus 3.5. At least that's what it says in my little book," she pulled out a tarp and sat down on it, "Here, come and see, come on, here you go," she leaned forward and looked into the telescope, "Right? That's the only planet in the Solar System named after a woman."

"Good for her. How far away is that?"

"Oh, it's about 26 million miles. But we'll get there one day. In a hundred years time we'll be striding out amongst the stars. Jiggling about with all them aliens. Just you wait."

"You really believe in all that stuff, don't you?"

"It's all over the place these days. If I wait here long enough..."

"I don't suppose you've...seen a little blue box?"

"Is that slang for something?" he eyed her, not really understanding a word of that.

"No, I mean it. If you ever see a little blue box flying up there in the sky, you shout for me, Gramps. Oh, you just _shout_."

"You know, I don't understand half the things you say these days."

"Nor me."

"No, fair dos. You've had a funny old time of it lately. There was poor old what's his name, Lance, running off on your wedding day...and that barmy old Christmas. I wish you would tell us what really happened."

"I know. It's just..." she sighed, "The things I've seen. Sometimes I think I'm going mad. I mean even tonight I was in a..." she shook her head, "Doesn't matter."

"Well you're not yourself, I'll give you that. You just...you seem to be _drifting_ , sweetheart."

"I'm not drifting. I'm _waiting_."

"What for?"

"The right man."

"Oh, ho, ho same old story. A man! Ha ha."

"Ha ha, no, I don't mean like _that_ , he's already got a girl of his own, the sweetest thing she is. And they're _real_. I've seen them. I've met them, just once. And then...I let them fly away."

"Well there you are, go and find them!"

"I've tried. They're nowhere."

"Oi, not like you to give up. You know, remember when you were about six years old, your mother said no holiday this year. So off you toddled, all on your own and you got on a bus to Strathclyde! Hah! We had the police after you and everything! Ha, where's she gone then, where's that girl, hey?"

"You're right. 'Cos they're still out there, somewhere. And I'll find them Gramps, even if I have to wait a hundred years. I'll find them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, I finally worked out an evil smirk }:) Muwah-ha-ha-ha! Lol, jk, but, getting back to this chapter...
> 
> OMG! Thella fluff overload! I'm dying, I'm literally dying of it, there's SO much! :) Lol. I think the Doctor is reveling in the fact that Angel's ok and NOT taking any second with her for granted again :) Awww :)
> 
> I'm really excited for this episode in general, we get the Donna reunion in the next chapter AND! We get to find out just whose companion she'll be in the chapter after that! I think you'll enjoy the little twist I have planned for that :) Next chapter we'll also get a little shout-out to Rory and...the cupboard! :) -squeal- All I can say...Angel you naughty girl! -gasp!- And...we might just make it to our first sneak peek by the next chapter too!


	7. Partners in Crime: A Sonic?

The Doctor stood by the console of the TARDIS, looking at the golden pendant through a magnifying glass, examining all the alien tech he could in the process, "Oh, fascinating. Seems to be a bio-flip digital stitch, specifically for..." he looked over to see Angel sitting on the captain's chair, massaging her temples. He smiled at her softly and moved to sit beside her, "The medicine will take a bit to kick in."

Her headache had gone away surprisingly quickly thanks to his, if he did say so himself, rather magnificent kisses last night. It seemed that, as Angel had said on the _Titanic_ , all he really had to do was hold her hand and the pain went away. Well, he'd taken that a step farther with the kissing, but it had the same effect in the end, a bit _better_ though...which made him rather smug that he had such 'magic kisses' as Angel had called them. It was only fair though, he could _swear_ that Angel had magic hugs. They were just so warm and loving and made him feel so good inside...it was one of the many, many, _many_ reasons he loved having her in his arms, it was like a continuous hug.

"I know," she sighed, stopping her ministrations to lean on his shoulder, "It's just rather annoying to have to wait…" she paused, "I see why you don't do it often."

He laughed at that, dropping a kiss onto her hair before putting an arm around her, though he DID have to tell her about the only occassion his natural impatience ceased for, "I'd wait for you forever."

She smiled at that despite the lingering pain in her head, "Really?"

"Oh yeah."

She shifted, looking up at him, "You'd _really_ wait as time moved _slowly_ around you, just for _me_?"

"Mhmm."

"So..." she smirked a bit, moving to sit back, across from him, a playful look in her eye, "If I was trapped in the Pandorica for 2,000 years...you'd wait outside the box and guard it?"

The Doctor smiled at her, "The Pandorica's a myth."

"But would you?"

He nodded, leaning over to kiss her deeply, "I would wait more than just 2,000 years for you Nella," he whispered, resting his forehead to hers when he pulled away.

She beamed, not pulling her head away either, "The man who waited," she murmured, "I'd wait for you too you know."

"I'm glad," he laughed, giving her one more kiss before he pulled her closer, putting his other arm around her, just holding her as she snuggled up to him, enjoying the moment and the feeling of her in his arms, the TARDIS humming gently around them, "But, you know, neither of us would really have to wait for the other."

"How?"

He smiled, "Because I wouldn't leave you for a moment. If you were in that box, I'd be in there too, right there with you."

She laughed a bit, the vibrations of it sending shivers down his spine, "We'd be a bit cramped. I doubt it's as big on the inside as the TARDIS is. I'd probably be stuck on your lap for the rest of time!"

He chuckled at that too, "I have NO problem with that at all. You in my arms Nella, that's all I need for eternity. I'd be happy stuck in that box with you."

~8~

Donna walked out of the house the next morning and over to a blue car, rolling her eyes as her mother followed in her dressing gown and curlers, STILL complaining about her and her lack of a job...till she noticed that she was opening the car, "It's _my_ turn for the car. What do _you_ need it for?"

Donna just got in and turned it on, "A quick getaway."

~8~

The Doctor and Angel ran around the console, pushing and pulling buttons, needing to land the TARDIS back by Adipose Industries. The box was shaking quite a bit, jolting everywhere, and so Angel was VERY happy that the medicine had kicked in and her headache had gone away, all this moving would probably have made it worse. The Doctor pulled a lever and went for his good old mallet...but Angel seemed to be expecting that.

"Oh no you don't!" Angel grabbed it from his hands and flicked a simple switch, succeeding in doing what the Doctor had hoped to do with the mallet, _without_ said mallet.

"Spoilsport," he muttered before they ran to finish landing the old box.

"Keep hitting her and she'll NEVER take you where you want to go," Angel remarked before laughing, "Like when we tried to go to Space Florida."

He pouted at that, "I was JUST trying to show her the beach!" he cried up at the console.

The box hummed in what Angel would guess was meant to be a scoff.

"I think she thinks you're lying," Angel eyed the rotor, reaching out to stroke it a moment, the box seeming to hum in agreement which made Angel turn to look at him curiously, "Why DID you want to go there all of a sudden?"

It had been a trip with Martha, just after they went ice skating, after she'd recuperated a bit. Martha had been talking about how cold it had been while the Doctor said he preferred cold to warm, more ways to stay warm...and then he'd hugged her. Martha had laughed, watching them, and said but beaches could be lovely and fun. The Doctor had just complained about how sand got everywhere and the water was always too salty and there were crowds of people who, some of whom, should NOT be wearing the suits they did...and then he'd trailed off, his eyes wide as he looked at _her_.

And the next thing they knew, he was setting a course for Space Florida, raving about how it was the most magnificent beach and telling them how he'd wanted to go there for ages, loved that beach, despite his rant moments earlier, and asked them to go get ready in the wardrobe.

They'd only taken a step when the TARDIS jolted and they'd ended up in the middle of the Arctic tundra and gotten chased by a Woolly Mammoth.

"Um..." he rubbed his ear, "No reason."

She frowned, eyeing him, "You ARE lying aren't you?!"

He winced, not for the fact that he'd lied, well fibbed really, to her, but more that she'd caught him, because she'd want to know what about, "Um...maybe?"

"Theta," she laughed, walking over to him and taking his hands as the box began to settle, "You don't have to be embarrassed, not with me, just tell me...why did you want to go to the beach so badly?"

He blushed.

And then she blushed, seeing an image of _her_ , _dressed_ for the beach, in his mind.

"I don't think I'd quite wear _that_ ," she nudged him.

"You would have looked lovely though."

"And you would have had dual heart attacks," she reminded him, well aware of the affect she seemed to have on him and his reaction to others, "And that would be _before_ you murdered everyone on the beach for looking at me in a bikini."

He blinked, he hadn't thought about that, about the other men who might see her so...revealed. In his mind...the beach, it would have been empty, just him and her...and _maybe_ Martha. Because, really, there _was_ no one else in his mind but her.

"Right..." he nodded, glancing at the rotor, "Good call," he thanked the box.

~8~

Donna parked her car in an alley behind Adipose Industries and got out, locking it as she walked away.

~8~

The TARDIS materialized in an alley a few feet behind a little blue car.

~8~

Donna pushed her way through the revolving front door.

~8~

The Doctor smiled, handing his sonic to Angel, aiming it with her as she flicked the button, breaking them in through the fire exit and raced inside, laughing.

"Maybe I should get a sonic," Angel thought out loud, "Yours is so much fun."

"Hmm..." the Doctor considered it, "Why would you need it though?"

She shrugged, "To scan things and unlock things?"

He smiled, kissing her quickly, "That's what you've got ME for. I'll always be there to do that for you, I'm never ever gonna let you out of my sight again Nella," he promised her.

The last few times he had...well...she'd had her face stolen, she'd ended up facing a Beast in the Pit and regenerating, trapped with Daleks, kidnapped by Pilot Fish, chased by Judoon, kidnapped on the Motorway, taken by the pig men, possessed by a killer star, killed by a Weeping Angel, trapped with the Master...and those were just a few! All because he took his eye off her for a second.

Never again.

~8~

Donna walked through the call center, waving to the man who she'd spoken to the day before, "Morning."

~8~

Angel led the Doctor down a deserted corridor of the basement, glancing at a few doors before stopping by one. The Doctor soniced it open and stepped into the small storage cupboard, pulling Angel to him before sonicing it shut. He smiled down at her, wrapping his arms around her as she simply smiled at him, laying her head on his shoulder, content.

~8~

Donna walked into a washroom, moving to a stall at the end and sitting down, looking at her watch... _waiting_.

~8~

Miss Foster walked along, through the office cubicles, flanked by two body guards, "Keep an eye out. She'll come back and then she's _mine_."

~8~

Everyone was packing up to go home by 6:10, many ready to leave after coming in at 9, the offices and work areas slowly emptying for the end of the day, everything growing quiet and dark for the night.

~8~

Angel laughed as she dashed out of the cupboard with the Doctor's sonic in her hand, wiggling it triumphantly at him as she turned to face him across the hall from the cupboard. The Doctor nearly stumbled out, his eyes wide and dazed, hair mussed, tie slightly askew, his lips looking just a bit swollen...

"Well?" Angel asked him, a sly grin on her face, highly, _highly_ amused by the state he was in.

He blinked a few times, his mouth opening and closing, trying (and failing) to get his mind working again after that little experience, that little...surprising...wonderful... _amazing_ experience.

"Well…" he swallowed, looking at her, "That's _one_ way to get the sonic off me," she giggled as he smoothed down his hair, recalling the faint groans she'd heard coming from him when she'd played with it to get it all stuck up like it was, "But…"

"But?" she eyed him.

The next thing she knew, her back was pressed against the corridor wall behind her making her gasp lightly, the Doctor holding her arms on either side of her, near her shoulders, his body pressed against her, letting her feel the heat rolling off it, "But _two_ can play at that game," and with that, he leaned forward and kissed her deeply, making her squirm against him. He lowered her arms, trailing his hands down them till he found the sonic, grabbing it, and stepping back, "Ha ha!" he cried, victorious, holding up the sonic.

Angel panted a bit, as breathless as he had been, "Touché."

He laughed, reaching out a hand to take hers, kissing the back of it before they headed off down the hallway, flipping the sonic in his hand and sticking it back in his pocket with the thought that...maybe he ought to switch pockets from time to time, give Angel a bit of a challenge next time she tried to do THAT.

Oh he was SO hoping there would be a next time.

~8~

Donna was stretching in her stall, more bored and stiff than she'd ever been in her life, before opening the door and walking out, ready to investigate...when her phone started to ring and she rushed back into the stall to answer it, "Not now!" she whispered-shouted.

"I need the car!" her mother said, "Where _are_ you?"

"I can't. I'm _busy_."

"Why are you whispering?"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm in _church_."

"What are _you_ doing in _church_?"

"Praying!"

"Bit late for _that_ , madam."

"What's she in church for?" she heard her grandfather ask in the background.

"Hush, you," her mother hissed, "Go up the hill!" before turning back to the conversation, "But I need the car. I'm going out with Suzette. She's asked all the Wednesday girls. Apparently she's been on those Adipose pills. She says she looks marvelous…"

Donna looked up, hearing the bathroom door open, and hung up on her mother, wincing as she thought about the complaining she'd have to deal with about that when she got home.

"We know you're in here, so why don't you make this nice and easy and show yourself?" Miss Foster said, walking through as Donna pulled her legs up onto the toilet, actually praying now that she wouldn't be caught, "I'm waiting. I warn you, I'm _not_ a patient woman. Now, out you come," there was silence a moment, "Right," she sighed, "We'll do it the hard way. Get her!"

Two men started kicking open the stalls, one-by-one, getting closer and closer to Donna till…

"There you are."

"I've been through the records, Foster," Donna heard that Penny woman from the other day speak, "And all of your results have been faked. There's something about those pills you're not telling us."

"Oh, I think _I'll_ be conducting this interview, Penny," Miss Foster said.

Donna waited a few minutes, listening as Penny was escorted out, before getting out and following.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel stepped out onto the roof, the Doctor heading over to a window cleaner's cradle and switching it on as they got in.

~8~

"You've got no right to do this," Penny cried as she was led towards Miss Foster's office, "Let me go!"

~8~

The Doctor and Angel got the cradle down just as the door to the office they'd just reached opened. Angel pulled the Doctor down so they wouldn't be seen. He winked at her in thanks before pulling out a stethoscope and pressing it against the window, putting one end in his ear and the other in Angel's so they could hear the conversation inside, their heads pressed together.

"This is ridiculous," Penny said.

"Sit there," Miss Foster commanded.

"I'm phoning my editor."

"I said _sit_."

"You can't tie me up!" Penny shouted as the men shoved her into the chair and did just that, "What sort of a country do you think this is?"

"Oh, it's a beautifully _fat_ country. And believe me I've travelled a _long way_ to find obesity on this scale."

"So come on then, Miss Foster, those pills. What are they?"

~8~

Donna snuck up to the door of the office, peering through the small window at the top, watching Miss Foster and Penny closely.

~8~

"Well, you might just as well have a scoop, since you'll _never_ see it printed," Miss Foster smirked, "This…" she held up a pill, "Is the spark of life."

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Penny asked.

"Officially, the capsule attracts all the fat cells and flushes them away. Well, it certainly _attracts_ them, that part's true. But it binds the fat together and galvanizes it to form a body."

"Well, what d'you mean 'a body?'"

"I am surprised you never asked about my name. I chose it well. Foster, as in _foster mother_. And these…" Miss Foster pulled a small white blob out of a desk draw and placed it onto the table, "Are my children."

"You're _kidding_ me. What the hell _is_ that?"

~8~

Donna stood on her toes to look through the window...

~8~

...as the Doctor and Angel crouched up to peer through the window at the blob.

"Adipose," Miss Foster patted it on the head, "It's called an Adipose. Made out of living fat. Stripped from ordinary human..."

"Doctor…" Angel breathed. The Doctor looked at her but she just pointed across the room. He looked over to see _Donna_ peering at them through the window of the door, stunned and surprised.

" _Donna?_ " he spoke silently, mouthing the words to her.

" _Donna!_ " Angel cheered as she mouthed it too.

" _Doctor!_ " Donna gaped, " _Angel!_ "

" _But...what?_ _What…what?!_ "

" _OH MY GOD!_ "

" _But...how?_ "

" _It's ME!_ "

" _Well, I can see that!_ " he gestured at his eyes, making Angel laugh.

" _Oh this is BRILLIANT!_ "

" _Donna_ _what are you doing there?_ " Angel mouthed, getting in on it more, worried for the other ginger, if she had been sneaking around the building on her own...

" _I was looking for you!_ " she pointed at them, confirming Angel's thoughts.

" _What for?!_ " the Doctor frowned.

" _I, came here,_ " Donna started to mime her story as well as mouth it, " _Trouble, read about it, internet, I thought, trouble = you! And this place is weird! Pills! So I hid. Back there. Crept along. Heard this lot. Looked. You! 'Cos they..._ "

She gestured to the side and looked at Miss Foster, only to see her staring back, along with Penny and the guards, "Are we interrupting you?" Miss Foster remarked dryly.

"Run!" Angel shouted in warning to Donna as the Doctor pulled out the sonic.

"Get her!" Miss Foster yelled.

The Doctor aimed the sonic and locked the office doors, giving Donna time, before pointing up and elevating the cradle quickly back to the roof.

"And them!"

~8~

Donna ran up the stairs towards the roof.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel ran through the door and down the stairs.

~8~

The guards shot the office door open before running out after them, Miss Foster following.

"What about me?" Penny called, straining in her binds, trying to get free.

~8~

"Oh my God!" Donna gasped as they met in the middle of the stairwell, before pulling them both into a tight hug, "I don't believe it! You've even got the same outfits!" she looked at them, aghast, "Don't you _ever_ change?"

"Oh I _missed_ you Donna!" Angel cheered, hugging her tightly, just her, making the woman jump up and down like she was doing in excitement.

"Yeah, thanks Donna, not right now," the Doctor looked down to see the guards coming up, "Just like old times!" he grabbed Angel's hand and pulled her away from Donna, leading them off as they ran up the stairs and out onto the roof.

"'Cos I thought, how do I find the Doctor and Angel?" Donna babbled as the Doctor ran over to the cradle, sonicing it, as Angel kept an eye on the doors to the roof while still listening to Donna, "And then I just thought, look for trouble and then they'll turn up! So I looked _everywhere_ , you name it, UFO sightings, crop circles, sea monsters. I looked, I found them _all_. Like that stuff about the bees disappearing, I thought, I bet they're connected. 'Cos the thing is, I believe it all now. You two opened my eyes. All those amazing things out there, I believe them all. Well, apart from that replica of the _Titanic_ flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day, I mean that's _gotta_ be a hoax!"

"What do you mean, the bees are disappearing?" Angel looked over at her with a frown. Why were the bees leaving?

"I don't know. That's what it says on the internet," the Doctor climbed into the cradle, helping Angel in as well, "Well on the same site, there was all the conspiracy theories about Adipose Industries, I thought let's take a look!"

"In you get," the Doctor cut in.

"Well in that thing?"

"Yes, in that thing!"

"But if we go down in that, they'll just call us back up again."

"No, no, no, 'cos I've locked the controls with a sonic cage," the Doctor said, gesturing her in, "I'm the only one who can control it. Not unless she's got a sonic device of her own. Which is _very_ unlikely…"

Donna scrambled in quickly.

~8~

Miss Foster approached the roof door as the guards tried to break in, a _sonic_ pen in her hand, "Out of my way," the guards scrambled to the side and she flashed the door, stepping onto the roof to see it empty. She walked over to the edge and looked down to see the Doctor, Angel, and Donna in the cradle, heading down, "Oh, I don't think so," she held out her sonic pen and accelerated the cradle, letting them _fall_.

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and Donna fell against the sides of the cradle as it started to plummet. The Doctor reached up with his sonic and flashed it wildly, stopping them suddenly. They fell to the floor and pulled themselves up. The Doctor turned to the nearest window and stared flashing it, knowing it was only a matter of time before Miss Foster managed to undo his sonic trick and send them falling again, and he HAD to get Angel out of the cradle.

"Hold on," he muttered, "Hold on, we can get in through the window..."

~8~

"Deadlock the building," Miss Foster called through the comm..

~8~

"Can't get it open!" the Doctor shouted as the sonic beeped, "She's deadlocked it!"

"Well smash it then!" Donna cried, grabbing a hammer and trying to smash the glass, but it didn't work.

"She's cutting the cable!" Angel gasped, looking up to where the cable was starting to sparkle and smoke, "Hold on!" she quickly turned to Donna and grabbed the woman's hands, pressing them to the side of the cradle just as the cable snapped.

The Doctor and Donna managed to hold onto the sides of the cradle but Angel right fell out the back of it, having lost her balance.

"Angel!" they yelled.

"Doctor!" she called, dangling from a broken cable, "Help!"

"Hold on!" the Doctor told her, reaching towards her, his hearts racing. He was quite sure that his entire life flashed before his eyes, his future too, and that a few gray hairs must have sprung up in that very instant that she'd fall away from him.

"Not much else I can really do is there?!" they turned and tried to pull her up but couldn't manage it, "Doctor!"

~8~

"And now, for the other one," Miss Foster smirked, lifting the sonic pen to the second cable.

~8~

"Doctor!" Angel shouted, looking up at him, _past him_ , at Miss Foster, seeing the same sparks as before.

He turned and aimed the sonic at the woman's pen, a dark look on his face, not only was HE in danger but his MATE was as well. And that wouldn't do. He flicked it to a higher setting, causing the pen to spark and burn her hand. She dropped it and he caught it, handing it to Donna to hold as he climbed up the cable to another window, managing to open it now that the sonic controls were disabled.

"A little faster Doctor!" Angel muttered loudly.

"Working on it!" the Doctor called down to her, trying to control himself, trying to keep his hands from shaking as he scrambled to get the window open.

~8~

Penny looked out the window to see feet in brown boots just...hanging there, "What the hell is going on?"

~8~

Angel let out a small cry as a gust of wind hit her, making her sway on the cable, making it harder to hold on. She was trying not to struggle, not to move too much, not wanting to wear herself out and use her strength, but it was getting harder.

"We won't be a minute!" the Doctor swore to her before climbing into the building, rushing to get down to Angel, leaving Donna to climb in after him herself.

~8~

"Yes they're slippery, those three," Miss Foster remarked as she rubbed her red hand, "Time we found out who they are."

~8~

The Doctor and Donna, who had caught up to him, ran into Miss Foster's office, ignoring Penny as though she weren't even there, before opening the window where Angel's feet were.

"Is anyone gonna tell me what's going on?" Penny shouted.

"What, you're a journalist?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes."

"Well, make it up!" he reached out to grab Angel's legs, "I've got you Angel! I've _got_ you."

Angel took a breath and let go, the Doctor catching her, saving her as he always did, not about to let her fall, managing to pull her into the building and into a tight hug, the two of them clinging to each other as their racing hearts only JUST started to calm.

"I was _right_ ," Donna breathed as she smiled at them, "It's _always_ like this with you two, innit?"

"OH YES!" he grinned hugely, relief coursing through him at having his Mate with him again, as he took Angel's hand, "And off we go!"

They ran out of the room, leaving Penny behind, "OI!" the woman snapped.

The Doctor ran back in, "Sorry!" he flashed the sonic and popped her bonds, turning to dash off but came back, "Now do yourself a favor, get out," they turned and ran down the hallway, across the call center, stopping short when Miss Foster appeared with her guards.

"Well then," she removed her glasses, smirking at them, "At last."

"Hello," Donna gave a wave.

"Nice to meet you," Angel smiled, "I'm the Angel."

"My Mate," the Doctor added with a cheeky grin.

"Stop that," she playfully whacked him in the stomach.

"Never," he promised, catching her hand and kissing the back of it, before turning to Miss Foster as well, "And I'm the Doctor."

"I'm Donna," Donna told them.

"Partners in crime," Miss Foster remarked, "And evidently off-worlders, judging by your sonic technology."

"Oh yes, we've still got your sonic pen," the Doctor nodded as Donna held it up, "Nice, I like it. Sleek, it's kinda sleek."

"Oh it's definitely sleek," Donna nodded.

"It's a bit small," Angel shrugged.

"Yeah, and if you were to sign your real name that would be..." the Doctor looked at Miss Foster.

"Matron Cofelia of the Five-Straighten Classabindi Nursery Fleet," Miss Foster said proudly, "Intergalactic Class."

"A wet nurse, using humans as surrogates."

"I've been employed by the Adiposian First Family to foster a new generation after their breeding planet was lost."

"What do you mean lost? How do you lose a _planet_?"

"Oh, politics are none of my concern. I'm just here to take care of the children on behalf of the parents."

"What, like an outer space super-nanny?" Donna asked.

"Yes, if you like."

"So...so those little things they're, they're made out of fat yeah, but that woman, Stacey Campbell, there was _nothing_ left of her."

"Oh, in a crisis the Adipose can convert bone and hair and internal organs. Makes them a little bit sick, poor things."

"What about poor Stacey?!"

"Isn't seeding a Level 5 planet against galactic law?" Angel frowned, trying to recall that lesson in the Academy.

She was trying, she _really_ was, to learn things as she went with the Doctor. It was actually surprisingly easy, she always listened when he talked, he had a nice voice, and she found herself absorbing quite a bit from him. But she was actually trying to do better. The Doctor always claimed that she made him want to be a better person, despite her thinking that impossible, he was already so fantastic. HER on the other hand, she could do so much better, be so much better, for him. He really _did_ deserve someone incredible...and despite how much she was trying...she had a LONG way to go before she could even _begin_ to be as brilliant as him and...

' _Oi,_ ' the Doctor cut into her thoughts, ' _If anything, I'M the one that doesn't deserve YOU,_ ' he nudged her, ' _YOU are the incredible one._ '

She smiled, knowing she couldn't disagree without saying he _wasn't_ incredible as a result, so she just went with, ' _We're BOTH incredible then._ '

' _That we are,_ ' he nodded, pleased he'd stopped her thinking those thoughts, ' _And we're even more so together,_ ' he shot her a wink.

"Are you threatening me?" Miss Foster narrowed her eyes at Angel, immediately setting off a protective instinct in the Doctor as he moved to step in front of her, as though shielding her from the woman's glare.

"We're trying to _help_ you, Matron," Angel said softly from behind him, knowing he'd only pull her back if she tried to move beside him, he was rather adorable when he got all protective, Jack would be happy to know she was being so well looked after.

The Doctor nodded, "This is your _one_ chance," he told Miss Foster, "'Cos if you don't call this off, then we'll have to stop you."

"I hardly think you can stop bullets," she laughed, giving the nod to the guards to take aim.

And the Doctor's hearts stopped.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like the little Rory shout-out? :) What about the cupboard? ;) Oh Angel, you little tease you, stealing the Doctor's sonic, I bet you can guess just HOW she did it too ;) And Donna's back! Woo! Poor Angel though, falling out of the cradle instead, but I couldn't see her NOT trying to make sure Donna was safe first before herself. You know how, on airplanes, they always say if there's a problem to fix your oxygen mask to your face FIRST and THEN worry about your kids or friends or something...I could see Angel running up and down the aisles making sure everyone was set before putting her own on lol :)


	8. Partners in Crime: Gingers United!

"No, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, one more thing, before...dying," the Doctor held up his hands, his hearts starting again, but racing even faster than when he'd seen Angel hanging from the cradle, "Do you know what happens if you hold two identical sonic devices against each other?"

"No…" Miss Foster frowned, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Nor me," the Doctor held out a hand and Donna gave him the sonic pen, "Let's find out!" he pointed the sonics together, creating an awful noise that pierced the eardrums. Miss Foster and the guards squirmed in pain as the glass shattered around them.

Donna pushed the Doctor till he stopped, trying to cover her ears in the process, even Angel winced at the pitch, "Come on!"

They turned and ran off as Miss Foster held up her wrist comm., "I'm advancing the birth plan. We're going into premature labor," she turned and hurried away, back into her office where Penny was collecting binders of files on the Industry having ignored the Doctor's warning to get out.

"Cellular ossification…" Penny mumbled, staring at a paper with a small frown on her face, trying to make heads or tails of it, when Miss Foster and the guards walked in.

"Tie her up!" Miss Foster snapped, glaring at the journalist.

"Ah, you're _kidding_ me," Penny grumbled as the guards grabbed her and began to do just that...again.

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and Donna ran along a deserted corridor in the basement, back to the storage cupboard the two had waited in before. The Doctor opened the door and started throwing supplies out of it, "Well, that's one solution," Donna said, watching him, "Hide in a cupboard. I like it."

"We're not hiding in it," Angel remarked, ducking as a piece of tubing flew over her head, "Well...not NOW. _Before_ we were. Well, before we weren't really JUST hiding..."

Donna smirked, seeing the Doctor's cheek tint pink and turned to Angel, "And what _were_ you doing when you weren't hiding?"

"Snogging," Angel stated.

Donna laughed and whacked the Doctor on the arm, "The cupboard's about the size of the outside of the TARDIS you know. Is that what the TARDIS has turned into then Doctor? Is it a snog-box too? It isn't, is it? Do you snog in there too?"

Angel frowned, "The TARDIS is a time machine," she said innocently, "We snog in the _time machine_."

Donna just beamed and hugged Angel, "Oh I missed you too!" she laughed, nearly knocking the girl off her feet as she swung her side to side in her enthused hug.

The Doctor just did his best to ignore them and pressed the wall and it slid open to reveal a big, green machine built into it.

"I _knew_ there was a reason I picked this one," Angel muttered as she watched the Doctor examine it.

"Hacking in to this thing," the Doctor said, pressing a few buttons on it, "'Cos the matron's got a computer core running through the center of the building. Triple deadlocked. And now I've got this…" he flipped the sonic pen, "I can get into it."

~8~

Miss Foster opened a wall panel in her office to reveal a similar green machine, "What does that thing do?" Penny asked from the chair she was tied to, leaning over as much as she could to the side to try and see what the woman was doing.

"It's the inducer," a Miss Foster explained, "We had planned to seed millions, but if those two, at least, are aliens then they've alerted the Shadow Proclamation, so the first one million humans will have to do," she turned to the guards, "Find him, and the women. Don't waste time, just kill them."

The guards nodded and rushed off.

~8~

"She's wired up the whole building," the Doctor continued to examine.

Angel stiffened, "Doctor...someone's coming."

He glanced at her to see her looking down the halls as though expecting someone to run up to them and realized Miss Foster must have sent the guards after them. He nodded, looking back at the machine, "We need a bit of privacy," he held two sparking plugs together and…

~8~

Lightning shot out of the walls, stunning the guards as they passed, not killing them, but jolting them enough to knock them out.

~8~

"Just enough to stop them," he nodded, letting out a small breath of relief that they were safe, for now. Those guards had guns, and they were headed right for them, for him and Angel, he didn't like people with guns anywhere _near_ his Mate, "Why's she wired up the tower block? What's it all for?"

"Inducer online," the computer announced as he worked.

"You two look older," Donna remarked, taking the time to really look at them, at the Doctor focused on the machine, on Angel focused on him, both of them with matching little frowns on their faces.

"Thanks," the Doctor mumbled.

"Still on your own?"

"Oh no," Angel explained gently, smiling in reminiscence, "We had another girl with us, Martha Jones," she laughed, "Most definitely my best human friend," she nodded, "She's brilliant Donna, you'd love her, she's so clever and..."

"And I destroyed half her life," the Doctor added.

"That was the Master," Angel corrected instantly, putting a hand on the Doctor's shoulder, squeezing it till he looked over at her to see her smiling at him.

She didn't blame him for what happened, for what the Master did, even though he blamed himself. Everything the Master had done had been to get back at HIM, destroy the planet and species he treasured, hunt his companion, torture the companion's family, and keep him away from his Mate. Everything the man could do to make him miserable and see him suffer, the Master had done. But in the process, he'd hurt so many others, like the Jones family. But it really was ALL the Master, the Doctor had tried to stop it, had succeeded in stopping it, the family was alive, and healthy, and closer because of everything they'd endured. And they would be just fine, stronger, better, because they knew him.

She nodded when she saw he'd caught her thoughts and was starting to smile again before turning back to the machine to finish. She turned to Donna again, "She's just fine, safe at home with her family."

"What about Rose?" Donna asked cautiously, recalling their reactions on the TARDIS. She truly winced thinking back to how she'd acted, how insensitive she'd been to not have noticed how pained they were at the reminder of Rose in a shirt.

"She's um...," Angel whispered, "Still trapped. In a parallel world," she added, explaining a bit more to Donna, "All the ways to it are sealed off. But still," she managed a smile, "She IS with her family and that's all that matters in the end, family."

Donna nodded, she could understand that. Her father, rest his soul, had recently passed that year. It had devastated her mother, shaken her family terribly. And it _hurt_. It made her wish she could go back and just spend one more minute with him, just...hug him. She knew it was every father's dream to live long enough to walk his daughter down the aisle and, despite the utter failure that whole mess had been, he'd gotten to do it, for the most part...if you forgot about how she'd disappeared in a flash of gold during the middle of it. But still...she treasured the memories she had of her father and could understand how the Time Lords must have felt. They'd said enough for her to know that their planet was gone, their people, just the two of them left, they, out of everyone in the Universe, could understand how important family was. And she didn't doubt they'd had a hand in getting Rose to her family before the parallel world sealed up.

"I thought you were going to travel the world?" the Doctor asked, wanting to get off that topic. It still stung them both to think on Rose, they did remember her fondly, they had moved on as much as they could, gotten closure, been able to say goodbye, healed a bit thanks to Martha. But it still hurt to remember that she was gone, his companion, Angel's sister.

"Easier said than done," Donna nodded, understanding, "It's like I had that one day with you and I was gonna change. I was gonna do so much. Then I woke up next morning, same old life. It's like you were never there. And I _tried_. I _did_ try, I went to Egypt. I was gonna go barefoot and everything. And then it's all bus trips and guidebooks and don't drink the water and two weeks later...you're back home. It's nothing like being with you. I must have been _mad_ turning down that offer."

"What offer?" the Doctor looked back.

"To come with you."

"You'd come with us?"

"Oh yes, please!"

"Right," he smiled as did Angel.

"Inducer activated."

"What's it doing now?" Donna squinted as the machine lit up.

"She's started the program…" the Doctor breathed.

~8~

Miss Foster pulled a lever.

"Inducer transmitting."

"Mark the date, Miss Carter," she smirked, "Happy birthday. _One million_ birthdays."

~8~

Mrs. Noble sat with her friends at a restaurant, having dinner as her friend, Suzette, extolled Adipose and their blessed pills, "I swear that Adipose treatment is _fabulous_. Just look at my chin," she lifted her head a bit to poke her chin, "And it's very good for back fat. I'm down two sizes!"

"It's like a miracle," Mrs. Noble smiled, "All that from just _one_ little pill!"

"And I've been eating like normal," Suzette added...when her back started twitching, making her frown and shift uncomfortably.

"You alright, love?"

"Yeah. I'm just...funny sort of feeling like a..."

Other people in the restaurant started reacting as well, in the same way, twitching and twisting, "What's happened?" a woman shouted.

"I'm not sure, seems to be..." a man replied.

"Better pop to the loo," Suzette got up only for her back to start to bulge out, lumps forming all over it.

"Oh, my God, Suzette!" Mrs. Noble gasped.

"What?" she asked, "What is it?" she looked over her shoulder, her eyes widening as she saw the lumps moving, "Get it off me!"

Mrs. Noble ran to her friend's side and pulled down the back of her shirt to reveal an Adipose which just hopped out of her shirt and waved at them. The large people all over the restaurant started getting bumps too, more and more Adipose jumping down from them.

~8~

Roger stood before his mirror, a small smile on his face, admiring his new figure...when an Adipose burst out of his belly, waving at him from the floor before jumping out the cat flap, leaving poor Roger stunned.

~8~

The Adipose ran along the restaurant floor, dodging people's feet and out onto the street where they littered the paths, they were _everywhere_.

~8~

"Come to me children," Miss Foster called into a communicator, "Come to me."

~8~

"Alright, everyone get back, don't touch them, and stay away," a woman tried to keep the people on the street calm as the Adipose swarmed, the police trying to help but to no avail, no one knew what to do.

~8~

"So far they're just losing weight, but the matron has gone up to emergency pathogenesis," the Doctor said.

"That's when they convert..." Donna swallowed.

"Everything," Angel frowned.

The Doctor nodded, "Skeletons, organs, hair, you name it. A million people are gonna die!"

~8~

Suzette fell to the ground, flailing as her body developed even more bumps.

~8~

"Gotta cancel the signal!" the Doctor pulled the pendant out and took off the top to reveal a chip beneath it, "This contains the primary signal. If I can switch it off the fat goes back to being just fat," he hooked it into the machine.

Angel winced, closing her eyes...

... _Donna held up a second pendant_...

'... _We're not the ones in trouble now. SHE is!_...'

... _Miss Foster, bewildered, looked down at the ground she was hovering above before she fell with a scream_...

Angel opened her eyes and looked at the Doctor, frantically working...

~8~

"A nice try," Miss Foster smirked, seeing the new signal racing up the controls, "Double strength," she pulled a lever down completely.

"Inducer increasing."

~8~

"No, no, no, no, no, she's _doubled_ it," the Doctor said tensely, "I need...haven't got time! It's too far, I can't override it! They're all gonna die!"

"Is there anything I can do?" Donna gasped.

"Sorry, Donna, this is way beyond you!" the Doctor panicked, "Gotta double the base pulse, I can't..."

"Doctor, please, just tell _her_ what you need," Angel reached out to put her hand on his as it fiddled with the controls, squeezing it.

"I need a second capsule to boost the override," he turned to Donna quickly, "But I've only got the one. I can't save them!" he returned his attention to the machine, trying to unlock the switches...

When Donna held up her own pendant.

He looked at her in shock before they all burst out laughing, the Doctor taking it and plugging it in, shutting the lights off permanently.

~8~

Suzette stilled, the bumps disappearing back into her body, "It's stopped! They've gone."

~8~

Miss Foster flicked the switches on her machine but the lights wouldn't turn back on.

"What's happened?" Penny asked, frowning, knowing something had happened.

"I think the Doctor happened," she sneered, "But we've still given birth to ten thousand Adipose. And the nursery is coming."

A loud horn sounded from above.

~8~

"What the hell was _that_?" Donna stared up, hearing it all the way in the basement.

~8~

"It's my lift home!" Miss Foster smiled, turning and strutting out of the office.

"You can't just _leave_ me here!" Penny called after her, struggling in her bonds once more.

~8~

"It just stopped," Suzette breathed, when the horn sounded again.

"What on Earth is it _now_?" Mrs. Noble looked outside, "Oh my God!"

Everyone looked up as a big circular spaceship flew over London. People started screaming and running away, not having the best experiences with spaceships just randomly appearing...it always meant trouble.

~8~

Donna's grandfather sat at his telescope, listening to music, deaf and oblivious to the spaceship behind him.

~8~

The ship came to a halt over the Adipose Industries building where thousands of Adipose had gathered, cheering.

~8~

"Fine…" Donna nodded, "When you say nursery you don't mean a crèche in Notting Hill?"

"Nursery _ship_ ," the Doctor corrected.

"Incoming signal," the computer lit up and started talking in an alien language.

"Hadn't we better go and stop them?" Donna reminded them when they didn't move to leave but just stood there staring at the machine.

"Hang on, instructions from the Adiposian First Family," the Doctor frowned as he and Angel listened in, Angel frowning as she tried to understand what was being said. She was fair at alien languages, she knew enough to get by, so it was a bit difficult to make out.

~8~

Miss Foster stood on the street, talking to the Adipose babies that had gathered around her, "Children! Oh my children, behold. I am taking you home," the Adipose cheered, "Far across the galaxy, your new mummies and daddies are waiting. And you will fly!" blue levitation beams reached out from the ship, creating a small circle of light on the ground below, "Up you go, babies. Up you go!" the Adipose babies stepped into the beam and started floating up to the ship, "That's it, fly away home!"

~8~

"She's wired up the tower block to convert it into a levitation post," the Doctor mumbled, "Oh. Ooh," his eyes widened as he heard the message, " _We're_ not the ones in trouble now. SHE is!"

"We have to stop her," Angel gasped, remembering her vision, she hadn't had much time to process it with her concern for the other humans but...Miss Foster was in danger and, despite what she'd done, the vision she'd seen...no one deserved that. The Doctor took her hand and led them to the stairs, rushing up them till they reached the roof.

"Take me!" they heard Miss Foster shout, "The children need me!"

They looked up to see the babies flying towards the nursery ship, "What you gonna do then?" Donna looked at the Time Lords, at the Doctor more than Angel, thinking about what he'd done with the Racnoss, "Blow them up?"

"They're babies," Angel sighed.

"They can't help where they come from," the Doctor nodded.

"Oh, that makes a change from last time," Donna remarked, a small smile on her face, pleased, "That Martha must've done you good."

"Adipose are docile," Angel replied, countering just a bit, "Peaceful. _Nothing_ like the Racnoss," she smiled at the floating blobs, "THEY won't hurt anyone."

They looked over as an Adipose waved at them and they returned the gesture.

"I'm waving at _fat_ ," Donna breathed.

"Actually, as a diet plan, it sort of works," the Doctor admitted.

"There she is!" Angel shouted, running to the edge of the building where Miss Foster was now soaring through the air, up to them as she levitated within the light.

"Matron Cofelia, listen to us!" the Doctor called.

"Oh, I don't think so, Doctor," she smirked, "And if I _never_ see you again, it will be too soon."

"Oh, why does no one _ever_ listen?" he muttered, before shouting, "We're trying to _help_! Just get across to the roof. Can you shift the levitation beam?"

"What, so that you can arrest me?" she glared.

"Please just _listen_ ," Angel told her, "The Adipose, they sent instructions, we saw them. They know what you're doing, breeding on Earth, is a crime."

"So what's the _one_ thing they want to get rid of?" the Doctor reasoned, "Their accomplice!"

"I'm _far_ more than that," Miss Foster shook her head, "I'm nanny to all these children."

"Exactly! Mum and dad have _got_ the kids now, they don't _need_ the nanny anymore!"

Suddenly the blue light disappeared and Miss Foster, bewildered, looked down at the ground she was hovering above before she fell with a scream.

Angel gasped and closed her eyes, burying her face in the Doctor's shoulder, horrified, as he put an arm around her, Donna looking away. When they looked up again the Adipose babies waved goodbye through the windows of the ships as they left.

~8~

"Sonic?" the Doctor asked, holding the pen out at Angel, recalling how she'd mentioned she might want a sonic.

She frowned and shook her head, _if_ she was going to use a sonic it would be one that came from the TARDIS not some other species, especially not one that had tried to harm the Earth and the humans.

He nodded and tossed the pen into the trash bin.

"Oi, you two!" Penny called. They turned around to see her creeping out of the building, still tied to the chair, struggling to walk with it on her back, half-hunched over, "You're just _mad_. Do you hear me? Mad! And I'm gonna report you...for madness!"

"You see, some people just can't take it," Donna remarked as they watched the woman walk off.

"No," the Doctor nodded.

"But some people can. So, then, TARDIS! Come on!" she grabbed their arms and pulled them away, back towards her car in the alley…to the TARDIS, "That's my car! That is like destiny! And I've been ready for this," she ran to the car and opened the boot to pull out the suitcases she'd put there, "I packed _ages_ ago, just in case. 'Cos I thought, hot weather, cold weather, no weather..." she started loading her luggage into the Doctor's arms as he stood there, stunned, "...they go anywhere, I've gotta be prepared," she tossed a striped hatbox over to Angel.

"You've got a...a...hatbox?!" the Doctor eyed the box in his Mate's hands.

"Planet of the Hats, I'm ready!" she grinned.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel stood in front of the TARDIS, the suitcases all around them, as Donna rambled in the doorway, positively beaming, "Do I need injections though, do I? Like when you go to Cambodia, is there any of that? 'Cos my friend Veena went to Bahrain, and..." she paused, seeing the Doctor's thoughtful, though slightly serious expression, "You're not saying much."

And that was VERY unlike him.

"No, it's just..." he shook his head, "It's a funny old life, in the TARDIS."

"You don't want me…" Donna realized, her heart breaking at the thought, "Neither of you?" she looked at Angel, feeling like she might just cry if the woman said no too.

"We're _not_ saying _that_ at all," Angel shook her head.

"But you _asked_ me," Donna looked at the Doctor, "Would you two rather be on your own?"

"No," he said, "Actually, no."

And it was true. He loved Angel with both his hearts and she did him, but they both liked having others around, having friends with them made the hole left by their people more bearable. When it was just the two of them, it was all too easy to remember it really _was_ just the two of them. He had to admit, deep down, he wasn't pleased with the fact that another companion would mean having to share Angel's attention with someone else, but...he supposed...as long as it wasn't another Time Lord...or a man...he'd be ok with it. And he knew Angel was more than eager to have another human travelling along, she seemed to love them as much as he did, and he could never say no to her.

"It's dangerous Donna," Angel explained, "The last time, with Martha, she was put in a hard position. And…her family was hurt."

Donna's eyes widened at that.

"We'll try to protect you as much as we can," the Doctor promised, "But…we can't guarantee you'll be safe. And…it's hard when you leave, when we lose our mate."

"YOUR MATE?" Donna's eyes widened in horror, "I ain't your _Mate_ spaceman!"

"I know!" the Doctor shouted, feeling _very_ uncomfortable with where Donna's mind had jumped to, "No, I've _got_ a _Mate_ , you would just be…a _mate_!"

"You're _not_ Mating with _me_ , sunshine!"

"A _mate_! _Our_ mate! Not MY _Mate_!"

"Well, just as well," Donna nodded, his words finally getting through to her, "Because I'm not having _any_ of that nonsense. I mean you're just a long streak of...nothing. You know, alien nothing."

"To _you_ maybe," Angel smiled, highly amused by the little altercation.

"So can I come?" Donna asked after a moment.

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, taking on another companion, _he_ had been the one to ask her after all, "Course you can, yeah."

They all smiled, "We'd _love_ it," Angel agreed, "Gingers United, back together again!"

The Doctor laughed, "It figures, my Mate and my companion are..."

"Hold on there spaceman," Donna cut in, starting to cross her arms, "Who said I was YOUR companion?"

He blinked and stared at her.

"Um, Donna..." Angel began gently, realizing that the human didn't understand how the TARDIS worked, "He asked you first."

"So?"

"So the TARDIS will only recognize you as HIS companion as a result," Angel explained, "We can have more than one companion at a time, but we can't _share_ them."

The _only_ reason Mickey had been allowed to be HER companion, given that the Doctor HAD invited him onboard earlier, dealing with the Slitheen, was that she hadn't been a designated Pilot when he had asked the boy, she hadn't even been travelling with them at that point. It was similar to how Jack could be her companion NOW as he'd been the Doctor's companion _before_ she'd become a Pilot. Anything _before_ she'd become a Pilot was basically erased when she DID become one because she wouldn't have been _able_ to ask, so Mickey had been allowed to be hers, but _after_ she'd become a Pilot...well...THAT was when the TARDIS was programmed to keep track of her pilots' invitations again.

Donna frowned and looked at Angel, "But...I want to be YOUR companion, Gingers United remember?"

"I feel so loved," the Doctor remarked dryly.

"You should," Angel turned to him, putting an arm around his waist, "I love you, very much."

He smiled at that and pressed a kiss to her hair, making Donna smile as well. He had to admit, despite his words, he was actually happy Donna didn't want to be his companion. It really meant _so much_ to him that Donna actually wanted to be Angel's companion, that the woman cared for her and liked her that much. It was ironic though, the first time someone came aboard wanting to be _her_ next companion, something she'd been wanting for a while, it couldn't happen.

Donna let out a mock-long suffering sigh, "I suppose I'll make do with you," she nudged the Doctor playfully, a small smile on her face, letting him know she thought he was incredible as well.

"You know," the Doctor rubbed his eye, "Just because you're MY companion, doesn't mean you can't be something else to Angel."

The gingers looked at each other a moment and then turned to him, "What?" they both asked at the same time, making him laugh.

"Keep on like that and people'll think your sisters," he smiled.

They blinked and looked at each other again.

"OH. MY. GOD!" Donna cheered.

"That would be _wonderful_!" Angel beamed, excited for the idea.

"And we really _do_ look alike too!" Donna enthused.

"Gingers definitely United!"

" _I_ get to be the older sister though," Donna stated. She usually _hated_ thinking of _anything_ that made her feel older but...Angel was just so sweet and innocent and she felt so... _protective_...of the Time Lady already, it would be...nice...to have a sibling, someone to look out for, she'd never had one before.

"I've never been a _younger_ sister to a sister before," Angel remarked, "I _love_ it!"

"Oh, that's just..." Donna ran to hug Angel, no, hug her _sister_ , but stopped, "Car keys!"

"What?" Angel laughed, her arms still out to start the hug.

"I've still got my mum's car keys!" she gasped, "I won't be a minute!" she turned and ran off as the Doctor just shook his head.

"Come here you," he turned Angel, finishing the hug for Donna, seeing his Mate with her arms open just waiting for one...how could he resist? She laughed, hugging him tightly, squealing when he picked her up and spun her around, before setting her down, the two fo them starting to carry the luggage into the TARDIS.

Angel, paused though, watching Donna run off around a corner, a curious expression on her face before she shook her head and turned to help.

~8~

Donna ran onto the crowded street where police cars were now stationed as she spoke into her mobile, "I know, mum, I saw it, little fat people. Listen, I've got to go. I'm going to stay with Veena for a bit."

"...it was in the sky!" her mother gasped.

"Yeah. I _know_. Spaceship. But, I've still got the car keys. Look. There is a bin on Brook Street, about thirty feet from the corner, I'm going to leave them in there," she tossed them into a bin.

"What? A bin?"

"Yes, that's it, a bin."

"You can't _do_ that."

"Oh, stop complaining, the car's just down the road a bit. Got to go, _really_ got to go. Bye."

"But Donna, you _can't_..."

Donna hung up the phone and walked over to a line of people standing by a fence, watching the police working. She tapped a blonde woman on the shoulder as she looked back, "Listen, there is this woman that's going to come along, a tall, blonde woman called Sylvia, tell her that bin there," she pointed to the one she'd tossed the keys in, "Right, it'll all make sense. That bin there," she smiled brightly and turned to rush back to the TARDIS.

The blonde turned back to look out at the scene one last time, only to reveal herself to be _Rose Tyler_ , looking worn and worried. She turned and walked away several steps before _vanishing_ into thin air.

~8~

Donna entered the TARDIS, shutting the doors behind her, "Off we go, then!"

"Here it is, the TARDIS," the Doctor beamed, "It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outsi..."

"Oh, I know that bit," Donna cut him off, making him pout, "Although frankly, you could turn the heat up."

Angel laughed and flicked a switch blowing warm air into the room, "Better?"

"Much thanks," Donna nodded.

"So, whole wide Universe, where do you want to go?" the Doctor grinned.

"Oh, I know _exactly_ the place," she smiled.

"Which is?" Angel asked her.

"Two and a half miles, that way," she pointed.

~8~

Donna's grandfather sat on the hill, looking up into the sky, when he caught sight of a blue telephone box flying above his head, exactly the one Donna had told him to keep an eye out for, "There! Donna! It's...it's the flying blue box!" he looked into the telescope to see _Donna_ standing in the door of the box, waving at him, "Huh…what?! That's Donna! Yeah, that's Donna!" he smiled, seeing the Doctor and Angel standing behind her, waving at him as well, "And that's them! That's _them_! Hey! That's them! Ha ha ha! Go on girl! Go on, get up there! Hey!" he did a happy sort of dance as the TARDIS shot off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, I LOVED how Donna wanted to be Angel's companion, I did promise a twist to it. She's the Doctor's companion, but wanted to be Angel's lol :) But now she's Angel's sister! Right off the bat too :) I know it was a build up for Angel/Rose/Jack/Martha to have the relationship they do but Angel's already met Donna and had an adventure with her and they already had a semi-connection then and she had Donna in the back of her mind so...I could see them acting as sisters, given that they're both gingers. Didn't I hint that Angel's hair color, at first, would be important? :)
> 
> But...oh no! Pompeii! -gasp- I can say that we might see a tiny little hint of a different Angel in the first chapter }:)


	9. The Fires of Pompeii: Caveat Emptor

The Doctor glanced around as he stepped out of the TARDIS, pushing a sheet acting like a small curtain to the side with a wide grin on his face, "Ancient Rome!" he shouted, turning to Donna, who was smiling, practically buzzing in excitement, and Angel, who was wearing a light green toga that fell to the floor, one strapped, with a small bit of a cape hanging over the back of it. Her hair, standing out more against her green attire, was pulled up into an intricate bun for the times.

Well...his gaze lingered a bit longer on Angel than necessary, but he couldn't help it, the toga...it was lovely on her. Well, to him, everything was lovely on her. She could be wearing a sack and he'd still think she was the most beautiful woman in the world. But that toga...he didn't know what it was about it, he'd thought he'd had it bad when he'd seen her in that dress when they'd gone to Lazarus Labs, but this? Well, he hadn't walked into a chair or tripped this time when he saw her, but he had stared openly, his mouth open, till Donna literally had to push it shut for him. She was gorgeous. He had to admit, he didn't usually care for dressing up himself, but Angel, seeing her like that...it was making him reconsider. Or at least he seemed to love it when SHE did it. He personally thought he'd look a bit silly in a toga.

He'd said as much and Angel had just laughed and said he'd probably start talking about time and the future and be thrown in jail as a mad soothsayer by the Emperor. That or insult said Emperor and end up thrown in jail. At least dressed as he was, others would assume he was a foreigner and claim he just didn't know better.

"It's not all that ancient now though," Angel smiled as she and the Doctor stepped past the curtain and into the street.

"Obviously," the Doctor laughed, "To all intents and purposes right now...this is brand new Rome."

"Oh my God, it's...it's so _Roman_!" Donna cried, enthusiastic, "This is fantastic!" she turned and hugged him, "I'm here...in Rome," and then hugged Angel, "Donna Noble in Rome," she looked around and they started walking down the street, the two just a bit behind her, "This is just weird. I mean, everyone here is dead."

"Well, don't go telling them that."

"Hold on a minute," Donna stopped and looked at something just behind the Doctor as he walked with his arm around Angel, "That sign over there is in English. Are you having me on? Are we in Epcot?"

"That's the TARDIS translation circuits," Angel explained, "It just makes it look like English and sound like English."

"You're talking Latin right now," the Doctor nodded.

"Seriously?" Donna asked.

"Mmm," he hummed.

"I just said 'seriously' in _Latin_ …"

"Oh yeah."

"What if I said something in _actual_ Latin? Like 'veni, vidi, vici?' My dad said that when he came back from football. If I said 'veni, vidi, vici' to that lot, what would it sound like?"

The Doctor and Angel exchanged a look, "I'm not sure…" she frowned, thinking about it. It wasn't something they gave much thought to. Most of the time they forgot that they were speaking another language or hearing another one. As Time Lords they knew quite a few languages, the Doctor probably even more so, so they could naturally understand what was being said even without the TARDIS's help. Angel smiled though, leave it to Donna to come up with a brilliant, human question.

"You have to think of difficult questions, don't you?" the Doctor asked.

"I think it's a brilliant one," Angel countered, "Sometimes the simple questions are the ones that _really_ make you think," she blinked and looked at the Doctor, "Why DID the chicken cross the road?" she asked him, serious.

He laughed, recalling how she'd asked that a few times now and they still didn't have an answer. There were infinite ones and just going with 'to get to the other side' seemed...dull. But no one could seem to agree with just one answer.

Donna smirked at the compliment to her question and nodded, "I'm gonna try it," she determined, walking over to a vendor.

"Hello, sweetheart," the man smiled at the potential customer, "What can I get for you, my love?"

"Veni, vidi, veci."

"Huh?" the man blinked, confused, "Sorry? Me no speak Celtic. No can do, missy."

"Yeah," she turned and walked back over to them, "What does he mean 'Celtic?'"

"Welsh," the Doctor said, "You sound Welsh. There we are. That's something."

"You learn something new every single day," Angel smiled at Donna, making her beam at that, that she had asked a question that taught the Time Lords something.

They turned and walked down the street, the Doctor eager to get to the sights, when Angel glanced back with a frown before being tugged on, rubbing her head.

~8~

A young, ginger woman in a red robe peeked around the corner she'd ducked behind at the woman's turn to watch them go.

~8~

"Won't our clothes look a bit odd?" Donna looked at her modern outfit.

"Well _yours_ will," Angel smiled as she gestured to her toga.

"I wish you would have left your hair down," the Doctor sighed, though his gaze trailed over her appreciatively.

She blushed, brushing a non-existent lock of hair behind her ear, "It's how they styled their hair then."

"I know," he reached out to brush that same non-existent lock behind her ear, really just using it as an excuse to cup her cheek, "But I _love_ your hair."

"I know."

"You don't leave it down often enough," he pouted.

"And YOU don't dress up often enough," she countered, nudging him, "YOU dress up and I'LL leave my hair down."

"I _could_ have worn that suit you know," the Doctor nudged Angel lightly back, "But _someone_ went and threw it in a supernova."

She rolled her eyes at that, she'd learned that the Doctor dressing up seemed to be a very bad idea. Whenever he DID dress up in anything but his typical brown or blue suit, usually in his black tie, bad things happened...so she really _had_ thrown it into a supernova to keep the Universe safe from the bad luck.

She poked him in the side, "YOU were the one who threw the manual into a supernova first," she reminded him, making him pout, "I was just following your example."

"The manual was wrong though," he insisted.

"My ancestors helped write the manual," she countered, "Are you saying I'M wrong about _the_ _TARDIS_?"

He blinked, realizing he may have just fallen into a bit of a trap, before he leaned in and kissed her quickly, "I'm saying that I'd much rather learn it from YOU than some stuffy old book," he kissed her again, "Books are boring, YOU are the most interesting, divine specimen in the Universe," he grinned, kissing the back of her hand, feeling her hearts jump at his words, "I'd pay attention to everything you say."

She smiled, "Well...then _I_ say that suit was bad luck and," she reached out to tap his nose, making him smile, "As your good luck charm, I must get rid of the opposition!"

He laughed, turning to see Donna had been watching them with a smile, before he put his arm around her waist again, "Anything goes in Ancient Rome Donna. It's like Soho...but bigger."

"You've been here before then?" Donna asked, unable to _stop_ smiling really. Those two were just adorable together, it made her both sad and happy that she hadn't married Lance. Happy because he was a right old jerk and she could do better, and sad because...she really did want someone to love and love her back the way the Doctor and Angel did each other.

Angel glanced behind her again, she could _swear_ there was someone there…

"Hmm, ages ago," the Doctor trailed in thought, "Before you ask, that fire had _nothing_ to do with me."

"Oh really?" Angel laughed as she nudged him.

"Well, a little bit…"

"A little?"

"But we hadn't gotten the chance to look around properly," he defended, "Coliseum...Pantheon...Circus Maximus..." he looked around, "You'd expect them to be looming by now. Where _is_ everything?" he turned and headed off to the side, "Try this way."

Angel frowned, glancing behind her _again_ before shaking her head, she was going mad. She had to be. She sighed and rubbed her head, feeling a bit of pressure there...because...something WAS wrong. She looked around, something felt... _off_ , "Doctor…I don't think we're in Rome."

"I'm not an expert, but there are _Seven_ Hills of Rome, aren't there?" Donna asked, agreeing, "How come they only got one?"

The Doctor looked over to the _one_ mountain in the distance, when the ground started to shake and smoke started to rise from the top of it.

"Here we go again!" a man shouted as the vendors tried to keep their stalls steady.

"Wait a minute! One mountain...with smoke...which makes this..."

"Pompeii," the Doctor gaped, "We're in Pompeii..."

"And it's Volcano Day," Angel's eyes widened, briefly missing Jack with that remark, before the magnitude of what was happening hit her, "Doctor, the TARDIS!"

~8~

The young ginger woman ran into a temple, past other women in red and threw herself prostrate before a contained fire, "I beg audience with the High Priestess of the Sibylline!"

"The High Priestess cannot be seen," a priestess with black hair stepped up, clearly the one in charge for the moment, "What would you tell her, sister?"

"It has come...as foretold in the prophecy. The box...the blue box."

~8~

The trio ran through the streets, back the way they came, the Doctor shoving aside the curtain...to see the TARDIS was gone.

"You're kidding," Donna breathed, "Don't tell me the TARDIS is gone."

"Ok…" he nodded.

"Where is it then?"

"You...told me not to tell you."

"Don't get _clever_ in _Latin_."

"Um...excuse me!" they heard Angel speak, they turned to see her standing before the vendor Donna had talked to, "Excuse me, Mr..."

"Trenus, Brutus Trenus," the man introduced, grinning.

"Right, nice to meet you. There was a big, blue wooden box right there," she pointed back to where the Doctor and Donna were, "Do you know wher it is?"

"Sold it, didn't I?" Trenus grinned, seeming very smug about it.

"But...it wasn't yours to sell," the Doctor shouted, coming over to her side.

"It was on my patch, wasn't it?" he defended, rubbing his hands together, "I got 15 sesterce for it. Lovely jubbly."

"Who did you sell it to?"

"Old Caecilius. Look...if you want to argue, why don't you take it up with _him_? He's on Foss Street. Big villa can't miss it."

"Thank you," Angel nodded as she and Donna took off.

"What did he buy a big, blue wooden box for?" the Doctor asked.

"Doctor!" Angel called.

"Coming!" he turned and ran after them.

~8~

Caecilius looked over at the blue box he'd placed in the corner of the main room of his villa, the servants scurrying off, "Modern art!" he cried joyfully, "Out of the way, that's it!" he shooed more servants away, before stopping one of them, "Oh, Rombus, I'm a little bit peckish. Get me some ants in honey, there's a good man. Ooh, maybe a dormouse!" he looked over to see his wife looking on, eyeing the box, her arms crossed, clearly not very pleased, "What do you think?"

"You call it modern art," she remarked, "I call it a bloody great waste of space."

"But we're going up in the world, my love. Lucius Dextrus himself is coming to the house this afternoon. What, with that and our Evelina about to be elevated..."

Just then a young woman with dark hair walked in, seemingly bored with the man's ravings, "Oh, don't go on about it, dad."

"If we had moved to Rome like I said, she could have been a Vestal Virgin," his wife muttered.

A young man entered the room as well, a bit tired, looking as though he'd just woken up from a night on the town, "Someone mention Vestal Virgins?"

"Quintus, don't be so rude. You apologize to the household gods."

"Get off," he waved at her, rubbing his head with his other hand.

"Apologize right now. The gods are always watching."

The ground rumbled.

"Positions!" Caecilius shouted. The family ran to different areas of the villa holding their arms out to keep their valuables from falling and breaking. When the rumbling stopped Caecilius kissed the head of a male bust he'd protected.

"There, now you've made the household gods angry," their mother turned to glare at Quintus, "Just say sorry," Quintus sighed and knelt by their shrine, "I tell you, Caecilius, that boy will come to no good."

"Sorry, household gods," Quintus sighed, not sounding sorry at all, sprinkling the relief with water.

"So where were you last night?" Caecilius turned to Quintus, "Down the thelopolium, I bet, cavorting with Etruscans, Christians, and all sorts. How's your head, sunshine? How's your head?" he clapped Quintus on the ears, just knowing the boy had been drinking.

"Alright, dad," he waved his father's hands away, "Give us a break."

"You want to smarten yourself up, Quintus, before Lucius Dextrus gets here," his mother warned, "Look at your sister. She is giving us...status."

"Oh, yeah, 'cos it's _all_ about Evelina," Quintus rolled his eyes.

"She has the gift," his mother defended, holding her daughter's hand up, showing him the eye painted on the back of it, a mark of the Sibylline Sisterhood, "Be proud of your sister for once," she smiled at Evelina, "Have you been consuming?"

"Not this morning," she shook her head, shifting uncomfortably.

"Well, come on, sweetheart," she led her over to a hypocaust in the center of the room, "Practice. It's hot today. The hypocaust is on full blast," they sat down on the ledge around it, "The mountain god must be happy. Breathe deeply. Remember what the sisterhood said."

Evelina leaned over and took a reluctant, deep breath, "It _hurts_."

"Oh, my love, is it too hot?"

She shook her head, "Sometimes in the smoke...I see the most terrible things..." she stared down into it.

"Like what?"

"A face. A face of stone."

"It'll make sense...one day...Sister Spurrina promised it. The veil will be parted and you'll be a seer," she got up and left Evelina sitting by the hypocaust.

She breathed deep again and looked down into the heat, where a creature of stone looked up at her and growled, "Who are you?" she breathed, leaning back, frightened.

~8~

The Doctor pulled Angel through the streets as they ran back to Donna, "Donna! Angel's found it! Foss Street, this way!"

"No," she grabbed his hand, "I've found this big sort of amphitheater I think...we can start there. We can get everyone together. Then maybe they've got a great, big bell or something we could ring. Have they invented bells yet?"

"What do you want a _bell_ for?"

"To warn everyone! To start the evacuation! What time does Vesuvius erupt? When's it due?"

"It's August the 23rd, 79AD," Angel said, closing her eyes a moment, feeling the pressure in her mind start to pound.

"Which makes Volcano Day tomorrow," the Doctor nodded.

"Plenty of time," Donna beamed, relieved, "We can get everyone out easy."

"Except we're not going to," he grabbed her hand and pulled her but Donna didn't budge.

"But that's what you _do_. You're the Doctor and...and the Angel! You _save_ people."

"We can't this time," Angel shook her head sadly, rubbing her head, "We need to go..."

"Pompeii is a fixed point in history," the Doctor explained, "What happens, happens. There is no stopping it."

"Says who?" Donna crossed her arms.

"Says me."

"What, and you're in charge?"

"TARDIS, Time Lord...yeah."

"Donna, human...no! I don't need your permission. I'll tell them myself."

"You stand in the marketplace and announce the end of the world, they'll just think you're a mad old soothsayer. Now, come on. TARDIS, we are getting out of here."

"Well, then I just might have something to say about that, spaceman!"

"Oh, I bet you will!"

"Can we please just GO!?" Angel snapped suddenly.

They looked at her, completely stunned at her reaction, at her words, at her tone...it was...harsh...completely unlike her.

But Angel just winced and rubbed her head harder, "Sorry…" she murmured, her face scrunching in pain, "This headache's _killing_ me."

The Doctor frowned and walked over to her, taking her head in his hands as he looked at her, "Still? I thought it went away?"

"It did for a bit, yeah. But it came back worse."

He gave her a quick kiss, hoping it might help like before, "Better?"

"Always," she smiled up at him, tense though, "But...not by much."

He nodded, frowning, "I've got some other medicine we can try, a bit stronger, should make you right as rain again...when we get back to _the TARDIS_ ," he looked back pointedly, "Donna?"

Donna sighed before nodded and walking after them, a bit concerned for Angel as well. She'd had killer headaches in the past...well...hangovers really, but all the same, they could be painful and she didn't want that for Angel. She was sure though, that once Angel's headache had cleared up, the girl would be on her side in saving the Pompeiians? Pompeiites? ...the people of Pompeii, from the volcano.

The young, ginger soothsayer watched them go before extending her arms out and slowly placing her hands, painted with eyes on the back of them, over her eyes, calling to the sisters, "The tall one, he calls us _mad_..."

~8~

"Then he is a stranger to Pompeii," the same dark-haired soothsayer that had stopped her before called back, "Soon he will learn."

A robed woman ran forward with a scroll in her hand, "We have found it, Sister Spurrina. In the 13th book of the Sibylline oracle. The blue box," she unrolled the scroll to reveal a drawing of the TARDIS, "A temple made of wood...and yet the Sibyl foretold the box would appear at a time of storms and fire and betrayal."

"Sisters..." a raspy, weary voice strained to call.

The sisters turned to stand in front of a gauze curtain, the vague image of someone sitting on a bed behind it visible, "Reverend Mother, you should sleep," Spurrina stepped up.

"The Sibylline oracles are wrong."

"But we have venerated her words for generations."

"This is a new age. Heed _my_ words. I predict a future of prosperity and might...an endless empire of Pompeii, reaching out from this city to topple Rome itself and encompass the whole wide world. If the disciples of the blue box defy this prophecy, their blood will run on the temple floor."

The ground rumbled and the sisters gasped, looking up, "The gods approve!" Spurrina cried.

~8~

"Positions!" Caecilius shouted as the ground started to shake again. He, his wife, and Evelina ran to their appointed places while Quintus just sat by the impluvius and drank his wine, rolling his eyes at his family's antics. If they were as well off as his father kept promising, they could just buy new items to replace the broken ones. Caecilius ran to the bust just as it toppled over, when Angel rushed in and caught it in time.

"Oh!" she smiled, pushing it back into place, the Doctor right behind her, Donna running in after, panting a bit in exertion, "There we are," and then she noticed Caecilius, "Sorry!"

"Thank you, kind lady. I'm afraid business is closed for the day. I'm expecting a visitor."

"Oh, that's me," the Doctor leaned forward to shake his hand, "I'm a visitor. Hello."

"Who are you?"

"I am...Spartacus."

"And so am I," Donna nodded.

"And me," Angel laughed, pleased she'd acutally _caught_ that little joke.

"Mr. and Mrs. Spartacus?" Caecilius gestured at the Doctor and Donna.

"Oh no, we're not married," the Doctor said quickly.

"Not together," Donna affirmed, grimacing.

"My Mate," the Doctor took Angel's hand.

"Oh yes," Caecilius nodded, before looking between Donna and Angel, "Sisters then?" he guessed, assuming Donna had been taken in by the man's family with her sister, like a ward, taking on the family name, "Yes, of course. You look very much alike."

Angel beamed at that and linked her arm with Donna's, "Mother said much the same," she joked, making Donna grin at that, "Though _I_ think my sister is _far_ more beautiful, don't you?"

Caecilius laughed, "She is quite lovely," he nodded.

Donna blushed at that, she doubted it was true but...Angel had said, Rule 2 was that SHE didn't lie. She really believed she was beautiful and...that was nice. She hadn't usually been self-conscious about her looks...before Lance. Hearing him calling her all sorts of names, calling her fat and useless and that he'd rather be with a giant red spider than her...well...it had shaken her. She'd tried dieting, she'd tried watching her weight, she'd tried beauty products...but every time she saw herself she just felt worse.

Angel was lovely, truly as beautiful outside as she was inside, and to have her claiming SHE was more beautiful, knowing the girl didn't lie...it made her feel warm. It made her feel... _happy_...to know someone thought she was beautiful.

And she rather liked how much Angel had taken to her, Gingers United, standing strong, together. She _loved_ how Angel was really, actually going along with the 'sisters' thing. For a moment she'd been afraid that it was just a passing remark, a passing idea that would never really be used again. She should have known better, Angel didn't strike her as the type to do that. If she said it, she'd do it.

"Well, _I_ think my sister is far sweeter," Donna countered.

"I'll second that," the Doctor grinned at Angel as she blushed now too.

She and Donna had such different personalities, but just...worked. It was almost like they _were_ really sisters, they had that quality to them. And...he could tell, Donna's request to be the older sibling...it was partially based in how she felt about Angel, he could tell she felt protective of her. And that was an _enormous_ relief to him. He knew, he knew quite well, that he wouldn't always be able to be with Angel every single second...no matter how much he wanted to...and that he couldn't always protect her as much as he would like. While he didn't trust humans with his Mate's safety, his _companions_...he could give _them_ a bit more credit. He wouldn't ever trust them completely or feel calm when she was trapped somewhere without him, like when she and Martha had been kidnapped, but...it _did_ ease his mind a fraction that Donna would be there too to help him.

And, he could tell...Angel would be good for Donna. There was something different about her, about this Donna they met again as opposed to her last year. What had happened with Lance had affected her deeply and Angel was JUST what she needed to feel better. He couldn't even begin to describe how HE felt now compared to when he'd escaped the War, it was like...he was a new person and not just because of the regeneration. There would always be guilty and sorrow, but...it didn't crush him, it didn't rule him as much as it had his last self, and it was mostly because of Angel he knew, Rose had helped but Angel...there were no words to describe the effect she had on people. If anyone in the Universe could get Donna to see how remarkable she was, it was Angel.

"But back to business," he shook his head, turning to Caecilius.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not open for trade," Caecilius shook his head.

"And that trade would be..." the Doctor eyed him.

"Marble. Lucius Caecilius. Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man."

"That's good," the Doctor smiled, pulling out the psychic paper, "That's good, 'cos I'm the marble inspector."

"By the gods of commerce, an _inspection_ ," Caecilius's wife gasped, taking the wine from Quintus, "I'm sorry, sir. I do apologize for my son," she poured it out into the pool behind him.

"Oi!" Quintus cried.

"This is my good wife, Metella," Caecilius smiled at her, "I…I must confess, we're not prepared for a…"

"Nothing to worry about," the Doctor nodded, "I…I'm sure you've got nothing to hide. Although, frankly, _that_..." he looked over at the TARDIS, "Object...rather looks like wood to me," the three of them headed towards it.

"I told you to get rid of it!" Metella whispered.

"I only bought it today," Caecilius countered.

"Ah, well," the Doctor replied, "Caveat emptor."

"Oh, you're Celtic. They're lovely."

"I'm sure it's fine but I might have to take it off your hands for a proper inspection."

"Although, while we're here, wouldn't you recommend a holiday, Spartacus?" Donna asked the Doctor.

"I don't know what you mean, Spartacus."

"Oh, this lovely family, mother, and father, and son...don't you think they should _get out of town_?"

"You really shouldn't Spartacus," Angel frowned at Donna.

"Why should we do that?" Caecilius asked, eyeing Donna curiously.

Donna turned to the man as the Doctor rubbed his eye, "Well, the volcano for starters."

"What?"

"Volcano."

"What-ano?"

"That great big volcano right on your doorstep."

"Oh, Spartacus, for shame," the Doctor interrupted, "We haven't even greeted the household gods yet," he pulled her away towards the shrine, Angel following behind them.

"They don't know what a volcano is," Angel told Donna quietly, "Right now, Vesuvius is still just a mountain."

"The top hasn't blown off yet," the Doctor sprinkled the frieze, " _The Romans_ haven't even got a word for volcano. Not until tomorrow."

"Oh great," Donna huffed, "They can learn a new word...when they _die_."

"Donna, please, stop it," Angel shook her head, rubbing it.

"Listen, I don't know what sort of kids you've been flyin' around with in outer space, but you're not telling me to shut up. That boy..." she pointed at Quintus, "How old is he, sixteen? And tomorrow he _burns_ to death."

"And that's our fault?" the Doctor turned to her, crossing his arms, not liking how she was also taking this out on Angel, all this arguing wouldn't be helping her head any.

"Right now, yes!"

"Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus," Caecilius's servant announced, "Chief Augur of the city government."

An older man walked in, the cloak he was wearing draped over his right side, "Lucius, my pleasure as always," Caecilius greeted as the trio turned to see who the visitor was.

"Quintus, stand up," Metella ordered in a whisper as her son stood with a sigh.

"A rare and great honor, sir, for you to come to my house," Caecilius smiled, holding out a hand, but Lucius ignored it.

"The birds are flying north...and the wind is in the west," Lucius remarked.

"Right…" Caecilius nodded along, "Absolutely. That's good, is it?"

"Only the grain of wheat knows where it will grow."

"There now, Metella, have you _ever_ heard such wisdom?" Caecilius turned to his wife, clearly needing help dealing with the man.

"Never," she replied, "It's an _honor_."

"Pardon me, sir, I have guests," he nodded at the trio, "This is Spartacus and Spartacus and, uh, Spartacus."

"Nice to meet you," Angel greeted.

"A name is but a cloud upon a summer wind," Lucius remarked as they waved at him.

"But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark," the Doctor retorted.

"Ah! What is the dark other than an omen of the sun?"

"I concede that every sun must set..."

"Ha!"

"...and yet the son," he gestured at Quintus and Caecilius, "Of the father must also rise."

"Damn. Very clever, sir. Evidently a man of learning."

"Oh yes, but don't mind me. Don't want to disturb the status quo."

"He's Celtic," Caecilius told Lucius.

"We'll be off in a minute," the Doctor nodded as he and Angel led Donna towards the TARDIS.

"I'm _not_ going," she hissed at them.

"It's ready, sir," Caecilius informed Lucius.

"You've _got_ to," Angel whispered to Donna.

"Well I'm _not_!" she insisted, "Why are YOU trying to make me?" she looked at Angel, this...was so unlike her!

"The moment of revelation," Caecilius pulled a cloth off a square piece of marble, "And here it is..." the Doctor looked back over his shoulder to see what looked like a circuit pattern on the block, "Exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?"

"As the rain pleases the soil," Lucius smiled.

"Oh now that's...different," the Doctor said, turning to walked back to them, Angel and Donna as well, Angel shifting a bit as she really wanted to leave, she could just tell that this adventure...would be devastating, and not just for _them_ , "Who designed that then?"

"My lord Lucius was very specific," Caecilius said.

"That pattern...where'd it come from?" Angel asked, eyeing him.

"On the rain and mist and wind," Lucius waved her off.

"Well that looks like a circuit," Donna nodded at it.

"Made of stone," the Doctor examined it.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Angel?...Snapping at people?...What?!
> 
> Oh but next we get the soothsayers :) And all the prophecies flying around. Here's a question...what will they say about Angel? Hmmm...I suppose we'll find out :)
> 
> Lol, Angel threw the suit in a supernova :)


	10. The Fires of Pompeii: Ipso Facto

"Do you mean you just dreamt that up?" Donna looked at Lucius, shaking her head. That would be one very weird dream, she knew SHE didn't dream of circuits or things like that.

"That is my job...as City Augur," Lucius replied, lifting his chin, almost like he was sticking up his nose at her, proud of his position.

"What's that then, like the mayor?"

"Oh, ah, you must excuse my...sister-in-law," the Doctor cut in quickly, making Angel beam at how he'd remembered their little cover story just then, "She's from...Barcelona," he turned and led Donna off a small ways with Angel, "This is an age of superstition...of _official_ superstition. The augur is paid by the city to tell the future. 'The wind will blow from the west.' That's the equivalent of the 10:00 news."

Angel looked over to see a young woman enter the room feebly, pale and dazed, looking rather ill, "They're laughing at us," Evelina said as the Doctor and Donna looked over too, "Those three, they use words like tricksters. They're _mocking_ us."

"No, no," the Doctor shook his head, "I meant no offense."

"I'm sorry," Metella made her way to her daughter, putting her arm around her, "My daughter's been consuming the vapors."

"By the gods, mother!" Quintus gaped, "What have you been _doing_ to her?"

"Not now, Quintus," Caecilius cut in.

"But she's _sick_. Just _look_ at her."

"Are you alright?" Angel asked her, taking one step closer to her, it really _was_ obvious that the girl wasn't quite all there at the moment.

"I gather I have a rival in this household," Lucius remarked, eyeing Evelina critically, not giving the girl a chance to answer Angel, "Another with the gift."

"Oh, she's been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood," Metella said proudly, "They say she has remarkable visions."

Angel frowned as she eyed the young girl. She could empathize with that a bit but...there was just...something wrong about it all. The girl...she looked like the visions were either hurting her or draining her and...that was wrong. She couldn't help but feel like...if the visions were meant for the girl to see, then they would come naturally. It seemed like these visions were being _forced_ on her.

"The prophecies of women are limited and dull," Lucius sneered.

"Oh, I don't know about that," the Doctor put his arm around Angel's waist, grinning widely, proud, "Got a soothsayer of my own, she's never been wrong yet."

And she hadn't. Vague, yes, out there, quite a bit, but never wrong. It was hard to interpret her words at times, but visions of the future, prophecy could be like that, they were meant to be hard to define and figure out. Angel though...she actually saw and heard what was coming, and _that_ was remarkable. To see the future that clearly...and when she spoke, even if it was one of her feelings, they were so often right. It took a while to get to them, some times he didn't even work out what she meant till after it had happened, but she'd been getting much better at them, stronger. It was really amazing how far she'd come. He could still remember when she'd mumbled about Cathica's name being like a cat and how they were curious, such an ordinary, if odd, comment, and it would later prove correct. Now she could actually say what was coming. She DID get feelings still, spoke before she realized she had at times, but she'd progressed so much, and he couldn't imagine what she might be able to do in the future if her abilities continued to grow.

' _Hopefully keep you out of trouble_ ,' Angel remarked in his mind.

' _Where would be the fun in that?_ ' he smirked back at her, he loved the adventure, the danger...but, in the same breath, he also hated it because it put Angel in danger as well, ' _I'd much rather YOU keep out of trouble._ '

' _We'll keep each other out of trouble then,_ ' she laughed, making him smile.

"Only the men folk have the capacity for true perception," Lucius declared.

"I'll tell you where the wind's blowing right now, mate," Donna remarked, glaring at him, taking his words as a slight against Angel as well.

Lucius smirked as the ground began to tremble, "The mountain god marks your words. I'd be careful if I were you."

"Consuming the vapors, you say?" the Doctor eyed Evelina.

"They give me strength," Evelina nodded shakily.

"It doesn't look like it to me."

"Is that your opinion...as a doctor?"

"I beg your pardon?" he blinked, surprised.

"Doctor. That's your name," her gaze turned to Angel, "As she is your angel."

"How did you know that?" the Doctor asked her, bewildered.

"And you...you call yourself noble," Evelina looked at Donna.

"Now then Evelina, don't be rude," Metella warned.

"No, no, no," the Doctor cut in, interested, it wasn't often they came across someone else who was so like Angel, the last person had been, well, the Sibyl herself, "Let her talk."

"You come from so far away," Evelina said, swaying a little as she focused on the future.

"A female soothsayer in inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries," Lucius spat.

"Oh, not this time, Lucius," the Doctor smiled, "I reckon you've been out-soothsaid."

"Is that so...child of Gallifrey?" he looked at the Doctor, before smirking at Angel, "Child of Time?"

"What?" Angel breathed, confused and a bit scared as to how he knew the name of their planet and also...why he'd called her that. She understood 'child of Gallifrey,' both she and the Doctor WERE children of Gallifrey, but...child of Time? She really had _no idea_ what that was or what it was supposed to mean. But it made her shift uncomfortably, it made her think of the Vortex...it was literally the power of time itself...coursing through her, even now she could feel it. But why? Why call her that? Did he know about the Vortex? Or...was there something...else?

"Strangest of images. Your home is lost in fire, is it not?"

"Doctor, what are they doing?" Donna blinked.

"And you, daughter of...London," Lucius turned to her.

"How does he know that?"

"This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth."

"But that's impossible."

"For the most part," the Doctor mumled, squeezing Angel's hand, she was the only psychic he knew that was never wrong, "Show them what you've got Angel."

She glanced at him as he smiled encouragingly at her, so she took a breath and closed her eyes, frowning as she tried to just...let herself feel, let the thoughts come to her, "Evelina has a short tunic hidden in her rooms..."

Metella rolled her eyes, everyone knew that, "So does every girl in Pompeii..."

"And Quintus wasn't out drinking last night," Angel continued as though she hadn't been interrupted, opening her eyes as she looked at the startled boy, THAT was clearly something the DIDN'T know, "He was meeting with a potential mentor of the physical sciences," she smiled, "He wants to be a doctor."

"How..." Quintus breathed, blinking as he stared at her, shocked, his family looking quite surprised as well.

"I have to say, I think you'd make a remarkable one."

"Quintus?" Metella looked at her son, "Is this true?"

Quintus glanced as his parents, starting to shift, "Yes."

"Brilliant," the Doctor beamed, kissing Angel's temple.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Caecilius frowned.

"You want him to be a merchant," Angel cut in, looking at Caecilius as he turned to her, "You dream of it, of him following in your footsteps, he didn't want to say no...so he's..." she frowned, "Pretending to drink, so you'll think him not responsible enough and leave him alone."

"Quintus!" Metella gasped, shocked her son was going to such extremes, surprised he didn't think he could _talk_ to them about his own dreams.

"You _shouldn't_ be surprised," Angel turned to her now, "You've spent more time with Evelina since the priestesses have come than ever before," Metella took a step back at that, "How could you notice _his_ ambitions didn't lie with _your_ hopes? You're more concerned with the status you could gain from your daughter you can't see how brilliant your son is."

"How dare..." Metella began, starting to feel the discomfort she was sure the trio had felt when her daughter and Lucius had started in on them.

"I think you should tell him that more often," Angel shrugged, not at all affected by the woman's growing anger, "And you Lucius," Angel turned her head to him, "This isn't the first or last stop you'll be making today, is it?"

Lucius stiffened, something the Doctor noticed, "I am a busy man," he defended.

"You're a _clever_ man," she countered, "You can't see a big picture from a single piece of the puzzle, can you?"

"Doctor," Lucius turned to the Doctor, "She is returning," he said, needing to stop the ginger prophet from speaking more, she knew, he could tell, she truly was a soothsayer, the things she knew, and if she saw as much as he could see...he needed to stop her.

"Who is?" the Doctor asked, stiffening, knowing why Lucius had changed the topic, he wanted to keep Angel from continuing, from her feelings focusing on only HIM but...he was curious as well as to what the man was talking about, Angel clearly looked confused as well.

"She is returning...while the other is fading."

"Who are you talking about?"

"And you, daughter of London..." Lucius smirked at her, pleased they seemed to not want to turn the discussion back towards him, "You have something on your back."

"What's _that_ mean?" she breathed, scared.

"It'll be ok Donna," Angel reached out to take her hand too, glancing at Lucius, "And the mountain god will welcome you to his home," she told the man, but he just smirked as though he either knew that or was pleased with the knowledge. She had to frown, what she said...it was NOT to be taken in a positive way.

"Even the word 'Doctor' is false," Evelina remarked, making them all look at her, "As is 'Angel,' though truer than you realize. Your real names are hidden. They burn in the stars of the cascade of Medusa herself. You are a lord and lady. A lord...and a lady…of time..." and then Evelina fainted, right into Angel's arms as she jolted forward a moment before the girl fell to catch her.

"Evelina!" Metella gasped as she and the Doctor rushed over to help Angel support the girl.

~8~

Evelina was sleeping on her bed while Metella cared for her, Donna and Angel helping her tend to her daughter, "She didn't mean to be rude," Metella murmured, now feeling a bit bad for how she'd reacted and acted to the trio earlier, having another woman there with gifts as powerful, possibly more so as Angel hadn't needed the vapors to help, as her daughter had made her defensive, "She's ever such a good girl. But when the gods speak through her..."

"She can't control what she says," Angel answered, "Things just slip out and she has no say over any of it, she doesn't know why she says it or what it means," she looked down at Evelina sadly, "And it hurts her."

Metella swallowed hard, it seemed the Doctor's soothsayer really _was_ just as accurate as theirs were, there was no way she could know that, it was something Evelina had confided in _her_ in private, "Yes," she breathed, unwrapping a cloth from the girl's arm.

"What's wrong with her arm?" Donna asked, seeing some sort of discoloration on the girl's arm.

"An irritation of the skin. She never complains, bless her. We bathe it in olive oil every night."

"What is it?" Angel asked as they walked closer.

"Evelina said you'd come from far away," she looked up at them, "And you...you're a soothsayer too yes?" she looked at Angel, who gave a hesitant nod, "Please, have you ever seen anything like it?"

They reached out and touched the grey spot on Evelina's arm, "It's stone…" Donna gasped.

~8~

The Doctor pulled the grille off the hypocaust as he and Caecilius sat by it, "Ah! Different sort of hypocaust."

"Oh yes, we're very advanced in Pompeii," Caecilius nodded, "In Rome, they're still using the old wood-burning furnaces, but we've got hot springs...leading from Vesuvius itself."

"Who thought of that?"

"The soothsayers after the great earthquake seventeen years ago. An awful lot of damage but we rebuilt."

"Didn't you think of moving away?" he wondered, before catching himself, "Oh, no, then again, San Francisco."

"That's a new restaurant in Naples, isn't it?"

The Doctor looked down into the earth where there was a loud grating and rumbling, "What's that noise?"

"Don't know. Happens all the time. They say the gods of the Underworld are stirring."

"But after the earthquake...let me guess, is that when the soothsayers started making sense?"

"Oh yes, very much so. I mean, they'd always been...shall we say 'imprecise?' But then...the soothsayers, the augurs, the haruspex, all of them, they saw the truth again and again. It's quite amazing. They can predict crops and rainfall with absolute precision."

"Have they said anything about tomorrow?" he asked, before wincing, catching himself again, Donna's words before had really gotten to him.

"No. Why should they? Why do you ask?"

"No, no, no reason," he sighed, "Just asking. But the soothsayers...they all consume the vapors?"

"That's how they see."

The Doctor put on his glasses, "Ipso facto..." he muttered, leaning into the hypocaust.

"Look, you..." Caecilius started but the Doctor straightened.

"They're all consuming this," he pinched a few rock particles between his fingers, letting them fall like dust.

"Dust?"

"Tiny particles of rock…" he tasted a bit of it, grimacing but tasting something entirely different than typical dirt and rock and ash, "They're breathing in Vesuvius."

' _Angel?_ ' he called getting up, ' _Any idea where Quintus might be?_ '

~8~

Quintus was lounging around his room, sipping wine...again...when the Doctor walked up, "Quintus, me old son...this Lucius Petrus Dextrus, where does he live?"

"Nothing to do with me."

The Doctor walked over to him, "This Lucius Petrus Dextrus..." he pulled a coin from behind Quintus's ear, the gold certainly catching Quintus's eye and attention, "Where does he live?"

~8~

Angel rubbed her head as she stood in Evelina's room with Donna, both of them watching the girl as Metella went out to work on dinner. She'd been following the Doctor's plan and thoughts and could only hope he wouldn't run into too much trouble without her there to help. She'd actually asked him to let her stay behind instead of going with him. He seemed torn between agreeing or not. On one hand, she'd be with him, and he could protect her...but he didn't know what he might face when he encountered Lucius, whether it might be more dangerous for her to be with him. On the other hand, he didn't like being separated from her and there was no telling if something might happen at the villa while he was with Lucius. So she'd taken it upon herself to decide for him, choosing to stay at the villa no matter what.

Evelina...she was so ill and pained...she just...wanted to try and help, see if she couldn't help cheer her up a bit. And Donna was staying and she knew, as much as she didn't like the fact that he kept proving it, that the Doctor could handle himself. Donna could probably do the same but, as a human, it would always make HER feel better if someone was there to look out for her. Where would she be if she lost, not only the co-founder of Gingers United, but her big sister as well?

She had to admit though, she didn't like not being beside the Doctor either. That man got himself into all sorts of trouble just standing still. He needed her there to pull him away. She sighed, rubbing her head a little, her headache had faded quite a bit, it was more like a dull, throbbing annoyance now, hopefully it would go away soon. She looked back as Evelina slowly woke up.

~8~

Quintus held a flaming torch as he led the Doctor to Lucius' home, "Don't tell my dad."

The Doctor leapt onto a barrel and climbed onto the windowsill, "Only if you don't tell mine," and then dropped down into the villa, lit only by the light from the hypocaust, "Pass me that torch," Quintus handed him the torch before looking around nervously and climbing in as well. The Doctor looked behind a curtain, making sure no one was there, thinking for a moment he should have brought Angel, she'd have been able to tell if anyone was there BEFORE climbing in and alert him to if anyone was coming, before giving the torch back to Quintus and pulling down another sheet that was covering something to see at least a dozen more marble circuits.

"The liar! He told my father it was the only one."

The Doctor put his specs on, "Well...plenty of marble merchants in this town. Tell them all the same thing; get all the components from different places so no one can see what you're building."

"Which is what?"

"The future...Doctor," Lucius appeared behind them, they spun around, "We are building the future as dictated by the gods."

Yes...he definitely should have brought Angel.

~8~

Evelina laughed as Donna tried on her new, dark blue toga-dress, "You're not supposed to _laugh_!" Donna mock-huffed, even though she was laughing along, "Thanks for that. What do you think?" she posed.

"I think you look beautiful," Angel walked over and put her arm around Donna's shoulder, "Just lovely."

"More beautiful than the goddess Venus?"

"Oh, that's sacrilege!" Evelina laughed.

"You have a wonderful laugh Evelina," Angel smiled as she and Donna sat down on the edge of the girl's bed, "You don't get to do it much though, recently, do you? Just...laugh."

"No," Evelina nodded sadly.

"What do you do in old Pompeii, then...girls your age?" Donna asked, "You got...mates? Friend mates, not them Mates," she nodded at Angel, "Do you go hangin' about 'round the shops? T.K. Maximus?"

Evelina sighed, "I'm promised to the sisterhood for the rest of my life."

Angel reached out a hand and put it on Evelina's shoulder, "No one gave you a say in it, did they?"

"It's not my decision. I have the gift of sight. The sisters chose for me."

"Just because you _have_ a gift," Angel began, "Doesn't mean you have to _use_ it. And it doesn't mean others can _force_ you to as well."

Lord knew she spent enough of her childhood trying to bury her abilities, fearful of what they could mean, hoping that, if she did so, others might think she was normal and try to befriend her. It had failed. It seemed, even without her abilities popping up, the other children just instinctively knew to keep away from her. She'd heard that Visionaries often gave off an aura like that, warding people away so as not to be influenced or biased. She _still_ didn't know how to explain the Doctor. He was like the complete opposite, he was closer to her than anyone had ever been and only seemed like he wanted to get closer and closer.

She sighed inwardly, he was such a worrier. She was _dying_ to complete the Mating, she wanted to be as close to him as possible, connected to him in every way, but he kept putting it off. It was such a role reversal, she knew. Before the Year-That-Never-Was, _she'd_ been the one telling him they should wait, let their feeling settle, and they had. They'd had that entire year. But now, HE was the one waiting to make sure she was healthy again, and she was, she felt fine. Truly fine! And...she didn't want to wait. She'd had a lot of time to think during that year, about how she did regret it with everything she had that she wasn't truly his Mate in every sense of the word. She knew if they'd been Mated before then and something happened to her, then it would be bad for the Doctor, but she survived and it just made her want to be with him, to not wait anymore, they were both fine and the future looked bright. She didn't want to take another moment for granted, she just...wanted to be with him forever, and that's what Mating promised, forever.

"Then...what can you see happening tomorrow?" Donna asked, her voice cutting through Angel's thoughts.

"Donna…" Angel said quietly, shaking her head.

"Is tomorrow special?" Evelina asked.

"You tell me," Donna shrugged, "What do you see?"

Evelina closed her eyes, breathing in, "The sun will rise. The sun will set. Nothing special at all," she opened her eyes.

"Look...don't tell the Doctor I said anything 'cos he'll kill me..."

"Donna don't," Angel warned her.

"Please," she looked at Angel, "Angel you _know_ what it's like to know about things that are going to happen...YOU stop them," she reminded her, "Please...let me try to stop this."

Angel frowned, it was...different. What she saw...it was often time that was in flux, time that _could_ be changed. Pompeii, it was fixed, it was always meant to and always would happen just as it should in history. To alter a fixed point in time...it was dangerous. It could destroy time itself if not corrected. What she did...she didn't even understand how her visions worked. She didn't know why she got them when she did or what to make of them. She just...felt...like the visions she got were the glimpses of the future she was _allowed_ to see, the things she was allowed to try and change. She admitted, she hadn't always been able to change them, not entirely, but the ones she could...it was because time was in flux.

Pompeii...well, if it would always happen...what was the harm in letting Donna try to change it?

"Go on," Angel gave her a small nod.

Donna beamed and turned to Evelina, "I've got a prophecy too..."

Evelina covered her eyes with her hands, unknowingly creating a link with the sisterhood, allowing them to hear _everything_...

~8~

"Evelina, I'm sorry, but you've got to hear me out..." Donna's voice called in the minds of the sisters.

"Sisters!" Spurrina called, covering her eyes as did the other priestesses.

~8~

"Evelina, can you hear me?" Donna asked, "Listen."

"There is only _one_ prophecy," Evelina insisted.

"But everything I'm about to say to you is _true_. I _swear_. Angel can tell you so, she 'seen' this future. Just _listen_ to me. Tomorrow, that mountain is going to explode. Evelina, _please_ listen. The air is going to fill with ash and rocks...tons and tons of it and...this whole town is gonna get _buried_. "

"That's not true!"

"Angel knows so too. And the Doctor, he told you she was a soothsayer, like you. Evelina, she's _seen_ it..."

"She's wrong!"

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but she's never been wrong yet. Everyone's gonna die."

~8~

"A new prophesy," Spurrina gasped.

"Impossible," one of the sisters replied, "There is only one!"

~8~

"Even if you don't believe me, just tell your family to get out of town...just for one day, just for tomorrow. But you've got to get out! Just leave Pompeii!"

"This is false prophecy!" Evelina threw her hands down, upset.

~8~

The sisters knelt before the High Priestess, "The noble-woman, she spoke of a new prophecy...one from an angel, of the fall of Pompeii," Spurrina said.

"Pompeii will last forever," the High Priestess argued.

"Then what must we do?"

"The false prophets must die. Sacrifice them!"

The sisters bowed their heads.

~8~

The Doctor arranged the marble circuits into a certain order, "Put this one...there…" and took one from Quintus, "This one...there. Uh...I'll keep that one upside down. What have you got?"

"Enlighten me," Lucius smirked.

"What? The soothsayer doesn't know?"

"The seed may float on the breeze in any direction."

"Yeah, I knew you were gonna say that and I didn't have to be my Mate to do it. But...it's an energy converter."

"An energy converter of what?"

"I don't know. Isn't that brilliant? I love not knowing, keeps me on my toes," he moved beside Lucius, looking at him, "It must be awful, being a prophet. Waking up every morning, 'Is it raining? Yes, it is. I said so.' Takes all the fun out of life. Oh but not for Angel, my Mate is brilliant, she's still learning how her visions work and even then, her feelings..." he shook his head, "It's like a great big mystery we get to work out together. But most importantly, well," he frowned, shaking his head a moment, "Second most importantly, 'cos Angel will always be number one most important, but for number two, who designed this, Lucius? Hmm? Who gave you these instructions?"

"I think you've babbled long enough."

The Doctor scoffed at that, the man clearly didn't see THAT much about a person if he thought THAT was him babbling enough, before he grew serious, "Lucius, really, tell me honestly. I'm on your side. I can _help_."

"You and your Mate insult the gods! There can be only _one_ sentence. At arms!" Lucius's guards stepped in as the Doctor stepped back, taking his glasses off.

"Oh, morituri te salutant."

"Celtic prayers won't help you now."

"But it was him, sir," Quintus cried, pointing at the Doctor, "He made me do it. Sir Dextrus, please don't."

"Come on now, Quintus...dignity in death," the Doctor turned to Lucius, "I respect your victory, Lucius. Shake on it?" he held out his hand, "Come on…" he wiggled his fingers, "Dying man's wish?" he lunged forward and grabbed Lucius' hand, yanking hard and pulling it right off.

"But he's..."

"Show me," the Doctor said, holding a stone arm as Lucius shoved his cloak aside to reveal his stone stump.

"The work of the gods," he smiled.

"He's stone!" Quintus exclaimed.

"'Armless enough, though," the Doctor tossed the arm back, "Whoops!" before turning to run, "Quintus!" Quintus hurled his torch at the guards, giving himself time to get through the window, the Doctor flashing the sonic at the circuits, toppling them over, "Out! Out! Out! Hurry!"

"The carvings!" Lucius cried, rushing over to try and salvage them.

The Doctor jumped out onto the street, "Run!"

~8~

Lucius examined the circuits, relieved, "My carvings! The work is unbroken."

~8~

The Doctor and Quintus ran through the streets.

~8~

"Oh, lord of the mountain, I beseech you," Lucius called into a hypocaust, down at the stone creature inside it, "This man would prevent the rise of Pompeii…" a snarl echoed up to him, "Lord, I beg of you, show yourself!" the snarling grew louder, "Show yourself!"

~8~

Angel gasped, her eyes wide...

'... _Talk to me. Tell me who you are. Don't hurt these people!_...'

... _they arrived in a great cavern, seeing the creatures of magma and stone walking around_...

'... _I can avert the system so the volcano will blow them up, yes, but...that's the choice. It's Pompeii or the world_...'

"No!" she cried, running out of the room, Donna behind her.

~8~

The Doctor and Quintus paused, looking back a moment, "No sign of 'em," the Doctor smiled, "Nice little bit of Allons-y. I think we're alright."

"But his _arm_ , Doctor," Quintus said, fearful and concerned, "Is that what's happening to Evelina?"

A loud boom echoed, "What's that?" the Doctor looked back as the sound continued.

"The mountain?"

"No, it's closer," the thudding continued as stalls and baskets fell over, along the path, heading towards them, "They're footsteps."

"It can't be."

"Footsteps underground!"

"What is it? What is it?"

The Doctor just turned Quintus around and they ran again.

~8~

"What is it?" Metella asked, looking around, "What's that noise?"

"Doesn't sound like Vesuvius," Caecilius remarked.

"Get out of the house!" Angel shouted, bursting into the room a moment before the Doctor came running in.

"Caecilius!" the Doctor called, "All of you, get out!"

"Angel, what is it?" Donna ran in after Angel.

"I think we're being followed," the Doctor said as the grille over the hypocaust was blown into the air, "Just get out!" he tried to push them to the doors as the ground beneath the hypocaust started to fracture and a loud growling was heard.

Everyone stopped.

And then a stone-like, magma-jointed creature broke through the ground as well.

"The gods are with us," Evelina breathed.

"Evelina get back!" Angel called, pulling the girl back.

"Water!" the Doctor realized, "We need water! Quintus, all of you, get water! Angel! Donna!" Donna, Quintus, Angel, and one of the servants ran to grab things to scoop the water in as Caecilius's head servant stepped forward.

"Blessed are we to see the gods…" he gasped...

And then there was a shattering noise of a vase falling to the ground a moment before he was toppled to the side as Angel tackled him, narrowly avoiding a stream of fire.

The Doctor ran forward, his hands out, "Talk to me!"he shouted at the creature, trying to keep it distracted, keep it from attacking Angel again instead, "That's all I want! Talk to me. Tell me who you are. Don't hurt these people!"

Angel looked over just as Donna entered the room with a jug to collect the water, only to see the ginger being pulled back by women in red robes with eyes painted on the backs of their hands like Evelina. Her eyes widened and she got up and ran out after them. Two women grabbed her as well and dragged her off.

"Talk to me! I'm the Doctor. Tell me who you are."

The creature opened its mouth to shoot more fire when Quintus dipped an urn in the pool, "Doctor!" he shouted, turning to splash the creature with the water. The creature froze and fell apart, in pieces, on the floor.

"What was it?" Caecilius asked.

"Carapace of stone..." the Doctor explained, "Held together by internal magma. Not too difficult to stop. But I reckon that's just a foot soldier."

"Doctor...or whatever your name is...you bring bad luck in this house," Metella said.

"I thought your son was brilliant," the Doctor replied instead, smiling a bit as Angel's words came back to him, "Aren't you going to thank him?" Quintus looked at the Doctor, amazed at what he'd said, when his mother hugged him, "Still...guess there are aliens at work in Pompeii and it's a good thing we stayed. And, speaking of luck..." he looked over, trying to spot his own personal good luck charm, "Angel?" but she was gone, "Donna?" and so was Donna, "Donna? _Angel_!" he ran out of the villa.

~8~

"You have _got_ to be _kidding_ me," Donna cried as she was shoved against a pillar and gagged, glaring at the sisters as they tied her, struggling to get out...especially considering Angel was tied to what was most likely a sacrificial altar with Spurrina holding a dagger above her.

"Please don't..." Angel gasped, struggling to get out of her bonds, well...there was _one_ way she might be able to but...she didn't want Donna to see, she didn't want the woman to know, Donna wouldn't stop asking her about it and she was a little afraid she might tell the Doctor too...

"The false prophets will surrender both their blood and their breath," the priestess said.

"You don't need to do this!" Angel pleaded, "Please...just _stop_..."

"You will be silent!"

" _Listen_ to me! I'm a soothsayer like you, I've _met_ the Sibyl, she _wouldn't_ want you to do this. She wouldn't want you to _become_ this. Just...let me go. Please, you don't know what's coming for you if you don't..."

"This prattling will cease...forever!" Spurrina lifted the dagger above her head...

When she was pulled back and shoved away, pressed against a pillar, her own knife now at her throat, " _Touch_ her and you're _dead_ ," the Doctor hissed to her, a dark look in his eyes that promised _exactly_ what he'd threatened, a growl to his words that proved his anger, "Keep back!" he nearly snarled, looking over his shoulder at the priestesses that had tried to aid their trapped sister.

Spurrina winced as the blade nearly cut her, the Doctor's hands were shaking in what she knew was barely restrained rage, "Back away," she called to the sisters, her voice faint, clearly _not_ have seen this coming like Angel clearly had.

The Doctor watched until the sisters had backed away from Angel before shoving Spurrina aside and striding over to the altar. He paused at the head of it, the sisters watching as, before their eyes, the man's expression completely changed from darkness to relief the nearer he came to her, "You alright?" he breathed, reaching out to stroke Angel's hair a moment, touching her cheek, his hearts starting up once more at seeing her alive.

Angel smiled softly at him, turning her head to kiss his hand, "You do realize you're in the Temple of Sibyl," she said, speaking as though she hadn't just been about to be sacrificed, well, she knew she wouldn't be, the Doctor would save her, she felt it.

"I'm VERY aware thanks," he laughed, seeing that she also wasn't answering because it would just remind him of the fact she _hadn't_ been alright to start.

" _You're_ not supposed to be here," she reminded him teasingly, "No men allowed. That was the rule she and I came up with."

"Oh, that's alright, just us girls," he smiled, glancing up at Spurrina, eyeing him warily, before he started to cut the bindings away from Angel as he spoke to them, "Do you know, Angel and I met the Sibyl once. Hell of a woman. Blimey, she could dance a tarantella. Truth be told, I think she had a bit of a thing for me. But, I already had my Angel, said it would never last, it couldn't even begin. She said, 'I know.' Well, she _would_ ," he stopped, getting the last binding undone, "Perfect," he smiled, helping her sit up, cupping her face in his hands, "You're just perfect," he breathed, relieved she was ok, that he'd been in time, and so, he leaned in and kissed her deeply, needing to reassure himself she was truly alright and he couldn't think of a better way than this...

"Urubahmeh!?" a muffled shout cut across their moment.

They looked over, Angel blushing a bit in embarrassment for having gotten so caught up, "Sorry Donna!" she hopped off the altar and headed over to the pillar, stepping behind it to untie her, the Doctor watching, his expression growing dark and dangerous as the sisters looked at him, knowing he was watching THEM, making sure they kept _away_ from the gingers, "There we go!" Angel cheered, freeing Donna who pulled her gag off.

"Thanks," she smiled.

"You know," she stepped back around to help push the rest of the ropes off her, "We need to take you to meet the Sibyl Donna. She's ginger too, wouldn't you know, and I think she'd be a great addition to Gingers United. Oh!" she cheered, taking Donna's hands in her own, "We can invite some other famous gingers!"

Donna laughed, "Sounds like a plan."

Angel nodded, pleased with the ides of their future adventures, and walked back over to the Doctor, slipping her arm around his waist, "Don't worry," she reassured him, "We won't invite Queen Elizabeth...can't have our members trying to kill my Mate."

"Thanks," he laughed, his expression much lighter with Angel in his arms again, dropping a kiss to her hair before eyeing Donna, "I like the toga."

"Thank you," Donna beamed.

"Let me tell you about the Sibyl..." the Doctor turned them back to the sisters, "The founder of this religion. Angel was right, she would be _ashamed_ of you. All her wisdom and insight turned sour. Is _that_ how you spread the word, eh?" he squeezed Angel to his side, his mind returning to that dark place it had been in at seeing her about to be stabbed, "On the blade of a knife?"

' _Still here,_ ' Angel reminded him gently, squeezing him back, ' _And not going anywhere._ '

"Yes...a knife that now welcomes you!" Spurrina lunged at him when Angel pulled him back...

"Show me this man and woman," the High Priestess called. They all turned towards the curtain, the sisters quickly kneeling.

"High Priestess, the strangers would _defy_ us!"

"Let me see. These two are different. They carry starlight in their wake."

The Doctor and Angel exchanged a glance before they approached the curtain with Donna, "Ah, very perceptive," he remarked, "Where do these words of wisdom come from?"

"The gods whisper to me."

"That's not _all_ they've done," Angel said gently.

The Doctor glanced at her before taking a step closer to the curtain, "Ah, might we beg audience, look upon the High Priestess?"

The curtains fell away and Donna gasped, "Oh my God! What's _happened_ to you?"

The High Priestess sat up on a bed, seeming to be almost made of rock, "The heavens have blessed me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...small hint to the title in this chapter... }:) But lol, I really wanted Angel to be the one about to be sacrificed to show the Doctor's Storming moment :) I could see the sisters as targeting her as the Doctor and Donna kept saying SHE was the soothsayer and Donna sort of implied it was 'Angel's vision' of Pompeii just a little, to them at least. And lol, she certainly seemed to get the best of the soothsayers, not only being relevant, but also clear, and her visions of what was coming...well...certainly looks like Angel might be the one true soothsayer in the end :)
> 
> But ooh...Angel came SO close to using the Vortex! The Doctor almost caught her! I can say that the Vortex will be popping up at least four more times by mid-series and only three people will discover the truth...will the Doctor be one of them? I suppose we'll find out }:)
> 
> I know there wasn't much epic fluff in this chapter, but we did get a storming Doctor :) But next chapter we'll get...the first official meeting of Gingers United AND! Quite a bit of fluff for Thella ^-^
> 
> Oh poor Angel, her headache got worse...and she snapped at people...and now with everything happening, I can't see her headache getting any better can you? As for what's wrong with her, well...we'll have to wait and see }:)


	11. The Fires of Pompeii: Carpe Diem

"If I might..." the Doctor gestured to step closer. The woman raised her arm and the Doctor knelt before her, touching it, "Does it hurt?"

"It is necessary."

"Who told you that?"

"The voices."

"Is that what's happening to Evelina?" Donna asked, looking at the sisters, "Is this what's gonna happen to all of you?"

"The blessings are manifold," Spurrina stepped forward, revealing her arm was rock as well.

Donna touched it, "They're stone."

"Exactly," the Doctor stood and stepped back, "The people of Pompeii are turning to stone _before_ the volcano erupts."

"But why?" Angel frowned, "What's going on?"

"This word...this image in your mind, this 'volcano,' what is that?" the High Priestess asked.

"More to the point, why don't _you_ know about it?" the Doctor looked back at her as he stepped over to Angel's side, "Who are you?"

"High Priestess of the Sibylline."

"No, no, no, no. I'm talking to the creature _inside_ you. The thing that's seeding itself into a human body, in the dust in the lungs...taking over the flesh and turning it into...what?"

"Your knowledge is impossible."

"Oh, but you can read our minds. You know it's not. I demand you tell me who you are!"

"We...are...awakening!" the High Priestess rasped, her voice echoing with another's.

"The voice of the gods!" Spurrina breathed.

"Words of wisdom, words of power," the sisters began chanting, "Words of wisdom, words of power."

"Name yourself!" the Doctor shouted, "Planet of origin, galactic coordinates, species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation."

"We...are...rising!"

"Tell me your name!"

"Pyrovile," Angel breathed.

The Doctor looked at her a moment before the High Priestess wailed, "Pyrovile!"

"Pyrovile," the sisters repeated over and over, "Pyrovile."

"What's a...Pyrovile?" Donna looked at them.

"I think _that's_ a Pyrovile..." Angel nodded at the woman, trying to recall what she knew of the species, "It's like it's...growing inside her."

"She's at the halfway stage," the Doctor nodded, eyeing the priestess.

"Well, and that turns into?" Donna asked.

"That thing in the villa, that was an _adult_ Pyrovile."

"And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, Doctor," the High Priestess rasped, "And your Mate!"

The Doctor stiffened at that threat, "I warn you...I'm armed!" and then he...pulled out a little, yellow, water pistol, "Donna, Angel, get that grille open."

"What are..." Donna shook her head.

"Come on," Angel grabbed her arm and they ran over to it, the Doctor backing up a step to guard them.

"What are the Pyrovile doing here?" the Doctor turned back to the High Priestess, though keeping Angel in the corner of his eye.

"We fell from the heavens," the High Priestess gasped, "We fell so far and so fast we were rendered into dust."

"Right. Creatures of stone shatter on impact. When was that, seventeen years ago?"

"We have slept beneath for _thousands_ of years."

"Ok, so seventeen years ago woke you up and now you're using human bodies to reconstitute yourself, but why the psychic powers?"

"We opened their minds and found such gifts."

"Yeah, ok, fine. You force yourself inside a human brain, use the latent psychic talent to bond. I get that. I get that. Yeah, but...seeing the future? That is _way_ beyond psychic, and I _know_ psychics, I call my Mate a psychic, she's really not though, well…sort of is. She's like you, but she's so much _more_. She can see through time. But she was _born_ with that talent. Where does _your_ gift of prophecy come from?"

"Got it!" Donna yelled.

"Now get down!" he called, moving to them, the pistol still trained on the High Priestess.

"What, down there?"

"Yes, down there!" the Doctor nodded. Angel jumped down, motioning for Donna to follow, "Why can't this lot predict the volcano? Why is it being hidden? My Mate can see it clear as day, she HAS seen it. Why can't _you_?"

"Sisters, I see into his mind!" Spurrina proclaimed, "The weapon is harmless."

"Yeah, but it's got a sting!" he squirted the High Priestess who moaned in pain, "Get down there!"

Donna dropped down, landing beside Angel as the Doctor followed, ending up landing right on top of his Mate, making them both blush a bit at the position.

"Hello," Angel breathed, staring into his eyes, he always said he loved her eyes, that they were like dark hot chocolate with golden sprinkles, but she rather loved his eyes as well, she could see so much of his soul in them.

"Hi," he let out a breath as well, his hand lightly touching her cheek, neither making a move to get up, forgetting, for a moment, where they were and what was happening.

"You fought her off with a water pistol," Donna laughed in relief, cutting through their thoughts, jolting them into memory of what was going on, "I bloody _love_ you."

Angel moved to help her stand as soon as the Doctor got off her, smiling, "I know that feeling."

The Doctor just beamed and kissed her quickly, taking her hand to pull her off, "This way!"

"Where are we going now?" Donna called as she followed after them.

"Into the volcano."

"No way."

"Yes way," he spun the water pistol, "Appian way."

Angel just laughed and, in a way similar to the Doctor whenever his companions attempted accents, said, "No, don't do that."

~8~

"The strangers would threaten our great endeavor," the High Priestess called out, "The time has come. The prophecy must advance."

~8~

Lucius stared into the hypocaust, "The prophecy must advance," he nodded, "Thy will be done," he turned to the guards, "Summon the Cult of Vulcan."

"Yes, sir," the guard dashed out.

"We must go to the mountain. Vesuvius awaits."

~8~

Caecilius stood in his villa, looking out at the rising sun with his wife, "Sunrise, my love. A new day. Even the longest night must end."

"The mountain's worse than ever," Quintus frowned as he looked out at the smoking mountain.

"We killed a messenger of the gods in our own house," Metella lamented before turning to her daughter, "Sweetheart, can you see? Tell us. What's going to happen?"

"Just...leave her alone," Quintus pleaded, upset with seeing his sister used the way she was.

Evelina closed her eyes a moment, frowning, "I can see..."

"What is it?" Metella asked.

"A choice," her eyes opened, tears in them, "Someone must make a choice. The most _terrible_ choice."

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and Donna walked through the tunnels of Vesuvius, Angel taking a bit more of the lead, letting her intuition guide her, "But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it alright?" Donna asked, hopeful, "For you to stop it?"

"Still part of history," he shook his head.

"Well, _I'm_ history too. You saved me in 2008. You saved us all. Why is _that_ different?"

"Throughout time there are things that are fixed and things that are in flux, able to be changed," Angel tried to explain, rubbing her head a bit, her headache was starting to come back with the heat and the terrible smell of smoke around them, "Pompeii...it's _fixed_ Donna."

"How do you know which is which?"

"Because that's how we see the Universe," the Doctor stopped and turned to look at her sadly, "Every waking second."

"We have the ability to see what is and what was," Angel said, sounding almost like she was reciting an age old lesson, "What could be and what must not be."

And it was even stronger in her.

Her visions...she saw more of what _could_ _be_ than anything but...her feelings...sometimes, like now, with how she was leading them off, she got the impression that those feelings were also of what _is_...what was happening at that very moment or near enough. It was like...when she shivered, knowing it meant an enemy had likely killed someone, that was happening at that exact moment. She had to admit, she was rather scared of how her abilities might progress. She already saw what could be, felt what is, how long would it be before she saw what was, what must not be? She didn't know, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. Foreknowledge alone was the most dangerous aspect to time travel, you could end up creating the future as a result, trying to alter something that couldn't be altered, among so many other things. She worried, each and every time she saved someone, that she might be disrupting the future. Whenever she pushed or pulled someone away it was always right before they were about to be killed or wounded and...if that gut feeling meant _that_ , it meant those people would have been dead if not for her. What then? What sort of future was she building for those men and women? It was different with Rose's father, they KNEW he was dead, he'd been dead for so long, it was an established event in Rose's life...but the people she saved, there was no telling when they would have died, they didn't know their personal futures, it wasn't set in stone yet. It gave her freedom to save them, but she often wondered...at what cost? How would it affect the future?

She could only hope that, since time didn't seem to be disrupted right after it happened, perhaps, the future would be alright.

"That's the burden of the Time Lords, Donna," the Doctor squeezed her hand, sensing her thoughts, he'd often worried the same, how her small changes to the timelines of those around her might play out in the future, "We're the only ones left."

"How many people died?" Donna asked as the Doctor turned them to walk on.

"Stop it!"

" _Doctor_!" she yelled, making them stop, "How many people died?"

"20,000," he whispered.

"Is _that_ what you can see?" she looked between the two of them, " _All_ 20,000? And you think that's alright, do you?"

"Of course it's not alright," Angel turned to her, "But Donna…some things are _necessary_. Some things _have_ to happen for the sake of the Universe."

"How could Pompeii affect the Universe?"

Before either of them could reply, a terribly screech echoed down to them, "They know we're here!" the Doctor shouted, "Come on!"

~8~

Lucius approached Vesuvius with the Cult of Vulcan, each member carrying a circuit.

~8~

The trio ran through the tunnels, trying their best to avoid flames shooting up, Angel helping them dodge and weave through them moments before they shot out.

~8~

"Oh, mighty Vesuvius accept these offerings in Vulcan's design and show unto us, I beseech you, the gods of the Underworld!" Lucius called to a mountain entrance.

The Cult knelt as a Pyrovile stepped out of the cave.

~8~

They arrived in a great cavern, seeing the creatures of magma and stone walking around, "It's the heart of Vesuvius," the Doctor breathed, "We're right inside the mountain."

"There's tons of 'em," Donna whispered.

"What's that thing?" Angel pointed at something across the way as the Doctor pulled out a small collapsible telescope and peered through it.

"Well, you'd better hurry up and think of something," Donna remarked as they kept low, "Rocky IV's on its way."

"That's how they arrived..." the Doctor squinted, seeing it was a ship, "Or what's left of it. Escape pod? Prison ship? Gene bank?" he collapsed the scope.

"But why do they need a _volcano_? Maybe...it erupts and they launch themselves back in space or something..."

"No, it's _worse_ than that," Angel breathed, her eyes filling with tears as the last part of her vision rang in her mind.

"How can it be _worse_?" Donna shook her head, a Pyrovile roaring a few feet away, "It's getting closer."

"Heathens!" Lucius yelled. They looked up to see him standing on a high ledge in the cavern, "Defilers! They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods!"

"Come on!" the Doctor called, leading them across the cavern floor, for the ship.

"We can't go in!" Donna yelled.

"We can't go back!"

"Crush them!" Lucius cried, "Burn them!" they stopped when a Pyrovile stepped in front of them. The Doctor quickly fired his water pistol at it, making it flinch back so they could run past, "There is nowhere to run, Doctor...Angel...daughter of London."

"Now then, Lucius," the Doctor turned as they made it to the ship, "My lord Pyrovillian...don't get yourselves in a lava," he looked at Angel and Donna, "In a lava...no?"

"No," they said at once, sounding very much like sisters again, they even had the same expression on their faces.

"No," he nodded, turning back to the man, "But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish...once this new race of creatures is complete...then what?"

A Pyrovile started towards them, boulders and other rocks being crushed along the way, making the Doctor tug Angel closer, as Lucius spoke, "My masters will follow the example of Rome itself, an almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilization."

"But if you've crashed...and you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?" Donna called.

"The heaven of Pyrovillia is gone."

"What do you mean 'gone?'" Angel shook her head, "Where'd it go?"

"It was taken. Pyrovillia is lost. But there is heat enough in this world for our new species to rise."

"Yeah, I should warn you, it's 70 percent water out there," the Doctor scoffed.

"Water can boil and everything will burn, Doctor!"

He put the pistol away, "Then the whole planet is at stake. Thank you, that's all I needed to know. Donna!" he pushed her into the pod, Angel following after them before the Doctor soniced the door shut.

"You have them, my lords!"

"Could we _be_ any more _trapped_?" Donna huffed as the door behind her and the pod itself suddenly got hotter, "Little bit hot."

"See, the energy converted takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix which wields Pyrovile to human," the Doctor remarked, examining the controls before them, mostly speaking to Angel, knowing she would understand some of it more than Donna, "Now it's complete, they can convert millions."

"Well, can you change it...with these controls?" Donna managed to follow along anyway.

"'Course I can. But don't you see? That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There _is no_ volcano. Vesuvius is _never_ going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power. They're gonna use it to take over the world."

"But you can change it back," Angel said softly, realizing what was coming, the end of her vision.

"I can avert the system," he nodded, "So the volcano will blow them up, yes, but...that's the choice. It's Pompeii or the world."

"Oh my God," Donna breathed, shocked.

"If Pompeii is destroyed, then it's not just history, it's _us_ ," the Doctor looked at Angel, knowing she would stand by him, " _We_ make it happen."

"But the Pyrovile are made of _rock_. Maybe they _can't_ be blown up."

"Vesuvius explodes with the force of 24 nuclear bombs," the Doctor set the controls, "Nothing can survive it," he looked at Donna and Angel sadly, "Certainly not us."

"Never mind us."

The Doctor put his hand on the lever, "Push this lever and it's all over. 20,000 people," he hesitated, not wanting to be responsible for so many deaths, and not just of those in Pompeii, but...possibly theirs as well.

"It _has_ to happen Doctor," Angel whispered, resting her head on his shoulder as she put her hands on the lever with his, letting him know it was ok to pull it.

"I know…" he swallowed hard.

And then Donna put her hands on as well.

They all looked at each other a moment before pulling the lever down.

~8~

Evelina gasped, sensing the change in the future, as did the sisters of the Sibylline.

~8~

"Nooooo!" Lucius cried, "Noooooo!"

~8~

"Nooooo!" the High Priestess screeched.

"A _new_ prophesy!" Spurrina gasped.

~8~

Angel winced as she braced herself against the side of the capsule as it shook, Vesuvius erupting around them, closing her eyes, concentrating as much as she could, pulling a power she hadn't used in such a large amount in so long to the surface...

~8~

"The future is _changing_ ," Evelina breathed.

~8~

Lucius screamed as flames of the mountain god's cavern burned him.

~8~

The mountain erupted, sending ash and the capsule the trio were trapped in, now surrounded by a faint golden glow, up into the air, throwing those inside about, Angel just barely managing to hang onto the sides of the capsule.

~8~

"The sky is falling!" Caecilius exclaimed, looking up.

"Death," Evelina backed away to the wall, "Only _death_!"

~8~

The townspeople looked up, stunned, watching the mountain, not sure what to do.

~8~

The Doctor helped Angel out of the capsule as the woman rubbed her head, Donna climbing out after them, "That did _not_ help my head," Angel muttered.

"It was an escape pod," the Doctor peered at the pod a moment before realizing the _volcano_ was _active_ behind them, "Come on!"

And then they were off, running back to the town.

~8~

People watched in horror as the cloud of ash blocked the sun.

~8~

The villa quaked as dust and furniture fell around the occupants.

"Out!" Caecilius shouted, "Out, everybody out! Quickly!"

~8~

The people panicked, screaming and running, trying to escape the town.

~8~

Caecilius tried to lead his family out...when the ceiling fell around them, blocking the way.

~8~

The ash began to fall like black rain as the Doctor, Angel, and Donna ran through the streets.

~8~

The High Priestess wailed as the temple collapsed around her.

Spurrina sat on the floor with the soothsayers gathered to her, "You _lied_ to us! And yet this was meant to be."

~8~

The Doctor and Angel tried to make their way to the TARDIS amidst the chaos in the streets while Donna shouted out to anyone who might listen, "Don't! Don't go to the beach! Don't go to the beach, go to the hills! Listen to me! _Don't_ go to the beach, it's not safe! _Listen_ to me..." she turned around, hearing a little boy crying, all alone, and made her way to his side, "Come here."

But a woman pulled the boy away, "Give him to me!"

Donna stood there, devastated, crying at the sight around her, when Angel stepped forward and grabbed her hand, "Come on," she said gently, tugging her back to the Doctor as they ran towards the villa, only to find the family crouched together against the back wall with their servant, the same one Angel had saved before.

"Gods save us, Doctor!" Caecilius cried.

The Doctor stared at them in terrible sadness before pulling Angel towards the TARDIS.

"You _can't_!" Donna gasped, "Doctor, you can't! _Angel_!" she rushed after them, into the TARDIS, storming up to them as the Doctor rushed around the console, preparing to dematerialize, "You can't just _leave_ them!"

"Don't you think we've done _enough_?" he glared, "History's back in place and everyone dies."

He didn't know what he was more angry about, the fact they'd nearly gotten trapped in Pompeii, that his MATE had nearly gotten trapped, or that he'd been forced to be the cause of it, along with Angel. Their entire planet had _burned_ , because of HIM, and now...it was happening all over again in Pompeii and worse yet...he'd made _Angel_ responsible for it too. That was a guilt and a burden he DIDN'T EVER want her to have to bear.

"You've _got_ to go back! Doctor, I am _telling_ you, _take_ this thing _back_!"

The Doctor released the brake and the TARDIS disappeared, his face stony.,

"It's not fair," Donna breathed, tears streaming down her face.

"No, it's not," Angel whispered, coming from around the other side of the console to stand by her.

"But your own planet," she looked at Angel, "It _burned_."

"That's just it," the Doctor said, drawing her attention again, sounding so...tired, so _hurt_ , "Don't you _see_ , Donna? Can't you understand? If we could go back and save them then we _would_ , but we _can't_. We can _never_ go back! We can't! We just...can't!" he looked down, "We _can't_ …"

"Then why save that servant if he was just gonna die anyway?" Donna looked at Angel.

Angel blinked, gasping as something struck her and she spun to the Doctor, rushing over to him, taking his hands, "We can't save _our_ people," she agreed, "And we can't save them all, but we CAN save _someone_ …"

He looked at her and she gave him a little smile, showing him her thoughts. Donna was right, why would she have saved that servant from the Pyrovile _just_ to have him die now?

He started smiling.

~8~

Caecilius and his family, along with his servant, sat huddled together as ash fell around them. They looked up at a wheezing sound, to see a bright light fill the room when the box that had somehow disappeared when the Spartacus trio had entered it, appeared again in the same spot. The doors opened and the Doctor and Angel stood silhouetted against a white light.

"Come with us," the Doctor held out a hand.

Caecilius reached out and grasped the Doctor's.

Angel had saved that simple servant because he was meant to live, THEY were meant to live!

~8~

They watched from a hill as a a dark cloud descended over the town. The Doctor, with his arm around Angel, Donna beside them, and Caecilius, his family, and his lone servant, watching as the city was destroyed.

"It is _never_ forgotten, Caecilius," the Doctor told them, "Oh time will pass, men will move on, and stories will fade, but one day...Pompeii will be found again...in thousands of years...and _everyone_ will remember you."

"What about you, Evelina?" Donna looked at the girl, "Can you see anything?"

"The visions have gone," she shook her head.

"The explosion was powerful enough to crack open a rift in time," Angel nodded, smiling just a bit at how SHE had given the explanation this time. She was _good_ when it came to time and space.

The Doctor sighed, "Just for a second. That's what gave you the gift of prophecy. It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alternative. But not anymore. You're free," he squeezed Angel beside him, in the end, she was the one true soothsayer of them all.

"But tell me...who are you, Doctor, Angel?" Metella looked at them, "With your words...and your temple containing such size within?"

"Oh, we were never here. Don't tell anyone."

"The great god Vulcan must be enraged," Caecilius murmured, "It's so _volcanic_. It's like some sort of...volcano," his voice cracked, "All those people..." he hugged his wife to him as Quintus took his sister's hand, none of them noticing the Doctor, Angel, and Donna slip back into the TARDIS.

"Thank you," Donna said, taking Angel's hand and squeezing it, knowing that it was _her_ , her that convinced the Doctor to go back, it was _always_ her.

"You were right," Angel squeezed her hand back, "Sometimes we need someone," she smiled softly, "I can't always see everything, but _you_ can see what I miss."

Donna nodded at that, knowing it had been HER as well that had helped save that family, SHE had noticed Angel saving the servant, all the excuse they needed to save them.

"Welcome aboard," the Doctor smiled.

"Yeah," she tried to return it.

Angel frowned, still seeing tears in Donna's eyes, and tugged her, "Come with me."

Donna frowned as Angel pulled her off, the Doctor trailing behind, "Where are we going?"

"To cheer you up!" Angel cheered, smiling back at her, knowing just what Donna needed, the one good memory in the bad, "I'm not about to let my sister be sad after her first trip am I?"

Donna had to smile at that when Angel pulled her right past a door...shutting it in the Doctor's face, which made her laugh.

Angel opened the door to see the Doctor standing there, blinking, "Sorry Doctor, girls...no," she smirked, recalling his little joke in the temple, " _Gingers_ only," she beamed at him and shut the door...only to open it a moment later as he pouted, to give him a kiss, before shutting the door again.

"First official meeting of Gingers United!" he heard Angel announce to Donna through the door, "First order of business...uniforms!"

He laughed and shook his head, it seemed Martha and all her dressing up had gotten to Angel, she seemed to like doing it not just for period trips anymore, he could only imagine what those two would get into.

~8~

Six months later would find Caecilius searching through his villa, in Rome, "Metella, my love, have you seen that clasp? The beetle one. The Egyptians do love a scarab."

"Here we are, I was giving it a polish!" she arrived with the clasp in hand, giving it to him, "Now calm down."

"If I get that contract for the marble granaries of Alexandria, we'll be _rich_ , you'll see..." he grinned...but it faltered when Evelina walked by wearing a short blue tunic, "Hold on there, Evelina. You are _not_ going out wearing that!"

"Don't start dad, it's what _all_ the girls in Rome are wearing," she smiled, kissing his cheek, "See you later."

"Are you seeing that boy again?" he called after her.

Quintus walked by, carrying a few scrolls under his arm, looking far more mature than last time, "Oh, look at Quintus," Metella gazed on him proudly, "My son, the doctor."

"Mum, I've told you," he sighed, though he was inwardly pleased that his parents finally knew the truth about his ambitions and were actually quite supportive of them, "I'm not a doctor for the legion, not yet. I'm just a student of the physical sciences."

"Well, that's a doctor to me," she kissed his forehead, "Give thanks to the household gods before you go. There's a good boy," she turned to Caecilius, eyeing his clothes, "Come here, let me fix it. You've got that folded all wrong..."

Quintus shook his head at his mother and walked over to kneel before their shrine, sprinkling water on it, "Thank you, household gods. Thank you for _everything_ ," he smiled, looking at the carving...the Doctor, Angel, Donna, and the TARDIS.

~8~

Angel and Donna laughed as they posed in front of a mirror in the back of the wardrobe. Both of them were wearing _the most ridiculous_ outfits they could find. Angel was wearing a pair of bright, neon purple bell-bottom pants, with ridiculously high orange heels, a shirt that was practically a tent on her and in a bright pattern that hurt the eyes, looking like an optical illusion, with a bright pink feather boa around her neck, a large red hat on her head that was so wide it could probably have been used to fly, and big yellow sunglasses that took up more than half her face on. Donna, on the other hand, had a tiara on her head, with one of the joke glasses that had bushy eyebrows and a big plastic nose on, with a purple feather boa, what looked like it was a yellow shag carpet as a long-sleeved shirt, a pair of pants that were cow patterned, and big swimming flippers on her feet. They both looked ridiculous but they were laughing too much to care.

"Strike a pose!" Donna cried and they tried to make the most random pose they could...only for Angel to lose her balance and topple over, rolling onto her back as she laughed even more, so hard that tears came to her eyes. Donna tried to help her up but stepped on one of her flippers and fell right beside her, the two gingers' faces as red as their hair.

They had tried to be serious, really actually looking for 'uniforms' to wear, trying on suits and dresses and pajamas among many other things, but then they just started getting silly. They dressed up as clowns and ghosts and babies, though they DID find some rather lovely Flapper dresses in the back, before they just started throwing the most random pieces of clothing at each other and egging the other into changing into them.

The Doctor stepped in, right at that moment, missing his Mate as she'd been locked in the wardrobe for a good few hours now, and stopped at the sight of the two women sprawled out on the ground, seeming to have trouble breathing, and dressed in clothes he was _sure_ the TARDIS _hadn't_ had, "Do I want to know?"

Angel just smiled and scrambled to her feet, "What do you think?" she asked, gesturing at her outfit as she unwound her boa, trying not to knock her hat off her head in the process as it had, somehow, managed to stay _on_ her head despite her fall.

"I can honestly say I have _never_ seen anything like it before," the Doctor nodded, he really didn't know how she managed to find outfits so completely ridiculous, yet look as amazing in them as she did.

Angel laughed and flung her boa around his neck, "A good answer deserves a good reward," she remarked, tugging him towards her by the boa, kissing him soundly.

He beamed as he pulled away, his hands wandering to her waist, "I suppose that answers another thing," he remarked, "If I, for some reason, chose a bowtie or a coat without lapels in my next body...all you needed to do," he tapped her nose, "Is pick an outfit that uses a boa."

She paused, considering that, "I think I might just wear it for THIS body," she told him.

"Oh will you?" he laughed, stepping back, taking the boa with him, though she didn't seem to notice.

She nodded, "We decided boas will be mandatory Gingers United attire," she informed him, that was really ALL they had managed to decide in the middle of everything, "Boas are cool!"

He grinned, holding her boa back from her, "Well you'll need to take this one back first or else you're in violation of your own rules," he teased.

Her mouth dropped open in a playful smile as she tried to reach for the boa, only for him to pull back. She moved to the side, he moved it behind his back to his other hand. She jumped for it, he just held it above his head, "Give it back!" she called with a laugh.

He just smirked deviously, something only Donna seemed to notice, the two seeming to have forgotten she was there, much like in the temple. He held the boa out as though to give it to her, only to pull it back suddenly as far back as he could go, Angel jolting after it...right into a kiss. He quickly dropping the boa to wind his arms around her, holding her closer, his one hand slowly drifting up to her neck, tilting her a bit to kiss her deeper...until he moved his hands suddenly, one behind her back, the other to her legs and lifted her up.

Angel squealed as he gathered her into his arms, bridal style, and spun around, making her laugh, her face red from the loving kiss he'd just given her. He beamed widely at the bright smile on her face, how her arms went around his neck, they way her eyes lit up, and leaned over to brush his nose to hers.

"You two are SO adorable," Donna remarked quietly.

They looked over at her to see her sitting on the floor of the wardrobe, cross-legged, smiling up at them, though it was small and wistful.

"Can't help it," the Doctor shrugged, not letting go of Angel for a moment.

It wasn't actually all that hard to keep holding her, she was practically light as a feather to him and, even if she wasn't, there was just something about having her near, having her in his arms, that gave him a strength he didn't know he had.

"Just love her so, so, so, so, SO much!" he spun her around again, dropping the hand under her legs to put his arm back around her waist.

"I love you more," Angel told him, giving him a peck.

"Oh now THAT'S impossible," he smiled, though his hearts raced at her words.

"How do you do it?" Donna asked, pulling their attention back.

"Do what?" Angel blinked as the Doctor set her back down, though he kept her close, her back to his front as he rested his chin on her head, swaying them side-to-side gently.

"That," she gestured at them, shaking her head, "You're aliens, you haven't changed at all. Despite what I said about you _looking_ older...you HAVEN'T aged. Just how old _are_ you?"

"903," the Doctor replied, "And Angel's 797."

Donna blinked, working out that they had to be immortal, or at least very, VERY slow agers, but it didn't really matter what they were, their ages were enough to go on with her point, "You'll be together for ages," Donna said, firmly believing it, "For centuries, millennia, the end of time even," she nodded, "I just..." she sighed, "Every time I see you, you're even more in love with each other and I don't think that'll _ever_ change. How? How do you do it? I..." she looked down, a small frown on her face, "I barely had 6 months and we all know how THAT turned out."

Angel stepped away from the Doctor, the man letting her go, to sit beside Donna, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Donna..." she shook her head, trying to figure out a way to say what she wanted to, "There is something SO special about you. The way we met you," she smiled, "The way we met you _again_ , that's not a coincidence, that's something _more_ ," she nudged Donna to look at her, "I really believe that things happen for a reason and I think you were meant to be with _us_ , right now, NOT Lance," she smiled, "And Lance...he wasn't meant for you Donna, because YOU are just _too_ amazing to be with HIM," she beamed, seeing Donna starting to smile again, "The Doctor is BRILLIANT yeah?"

"Yeah," Donna nodded, not quite sure where that was going.

"And YOU are his companion!" Angel laughed, "Don't you see? He wouldn't take you on if you weren't brilliant. And you deserve someone who is just as amazing as you, someone who _deserves_ you, someone who will make you as happy as the Doctor makes me."

The Doctor smiled at her words, touched.

"Do you think that was _Lance_?" Angel asked, wrinkling her face in distaste as she said 'Lance.'

"No," Donna let out a breathy laugh as she shook her head, "Not at all, even _befor_ e the wedding he never made me feel the way you clearly do around the Doctor, not _really_."

"You see," Angel nodded, "You _couldn't_ be with Lance because there's a man out there who will love you _so much more_ than Lance _ever_ could, someone who will _always_ be there for you and make you smile and laugh and feel all warm inside," she smiled back at the Doctor as he gazed at her softly, knowing that was how HE made HER feel, "And when you DO find him...I want an invitation to the wedding."

Donna laughed, tears in her eyes at how...she couldn't even describe how Angel made her feel at that moment, "You'll be IN it," Donna swore, "My sister's GOT to be my Maid-of-Honor."

"Brilliant," Angel smiled, "I look forward to it."

Donna just shook her head and reached out to hug Angel to her, feeling so much better, feeling...she didn't know.

' _You really are an angel,_ ' the Doctor's voice called in her mind as she looked over at him again, him just beaming at her.

She just smiled and hugged Donna tighter, happy she could help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww :) As I started writing the last scene, I had it all planned out to be nothing but fluff, but then Donna was there and I felt like...she's still stung and hurt from Lance and seeing them being so sweet together (there wasn't much fluff that she saw earlier) would remind her of that, and Angel would HAVE to comfort her sister.
> 
> But to make up for that...I can say that the pool scene will be in the next episode ;) And on that note...we're one more episode down and one closer to The Poison Sky! Oh, I can't wait!
> 
> Lol, did you see a little hint of 11 in this chapter? I wonder what HE would think of boas ;)


	12. Planet of the Ood: The Song of Mourning

"The Ood," a man's voice spoke, "They came from a distant world...they voyaged across the stars, all with one purpose..."

"Do you take milk and sugar?" an Ood asked, his orb lighting up in its typical fashion.

"...to serve."

A man stood in his office, watching the ad playing out on a monitor, an Ood standing behind him, silent and waiting, "That's good," he nodded, speaking into his comm., clearly pleased with the ad, "That's excellent. I like it. 'Buy one now.' Direct. Straight to the point."

"We play that across the tri-galactic for two weeks, then introduce this," another man replied over the comm..

"Now only 50 credits…" the ad continued again.

"50?" he raised an eyebrow, scoffing at the amount, "We're reducing the price to _50 credits_?"

"Sales are down," the man over the comm. sighed, "We've got to reposition ourselves. So get going."

He rolled his eyes, cutting off the comm., "Idiot!" he muttered, glaring at the frozen ad, "He's bleeding us dry," he turned to the Ood, "You there! Get me last month's military export figures. The army always needs more grunts," he turned and sat at the desk.

"Yes, sir," the Ood nodded, going to do just that.

"Mr. Bartle, you asked me to contact you?" a young Indian woman called over the comm..

"Solana, when those buyers arrive, we're gonna pitch like never before," Bartle began, "I want those Ood _flying_ out of here," the Ood returned and placed a binder on the desk in front of him, "I said military figures. That's the domestic file," he handed it back...more like shoved it back...to the Ood without looking at it.

"The file is irrelevant, sir," the Ood slammed the file down, its eyes red though Bartle didn't notice.

"Oh, and why is that?" Bartle turned to look at the Ood, gasping at the sight of the red eyes they'd only ever heard whispers of.

The Ood simply placed his translator ball to Bartle's head, electrocuting him, "Have a nice day."

~8~

The Doctor and Donna were jostled about as the TARDIS flew through the Vortex, Angel just barely managing to hold onto to the center of the console to keep steady enough to land her wherever it was the old box had taken them. All they really knew was that the Doctor had set the controls for a random planet, as per Donna's request to see one, and SHE wasn't allowed to 'peek' ahead to where it was or what might happen, also as per Donna's request. They'd both been all too willing to agree. The Doctor because he loved mystery tours, Angel because the Doctor had been right when he spoke to Lucius, sometimes knowing what was coming made things a bit dull. She knew enough of her abilities to know that she could, if she really, really tried, force a glimpse of the future, or at the very least, get a feeling about something. But most of the time, she didn't really want to know. When the feelings and visions happened, they happened, and, more often than not, she was able to help someone as a result. But...there were things she'd rather not see, like...if something terrible was coming. Yes, she could try to stop it, but, knowing something bad was coming up was just...she didn't want to see it once and then have to live through it. The only good thing about those was she could help, and that's all she ever really wanted to do, help and protect people, much like the Doctor loved caring for people and making them better.

They were quite the pair, weren't they?

"Set the controls to random!" the Doctor called as the TARDIS settled, walking around the side of the console to look at Donna, sliding his arm around Angel's waist in the process as he came beside her, "Mystery tour. Outside that door could be any planet, anywhere, anywhen in the whole wide…"

"Are you alright Donna?" Angel asked, seeing the ginger standing there, almost trembling, stiff even.

"Terrified," Donna said, though she sounded very excited as well, "I mean, history's one thing, but an alien planet!"

"We could always take you home," the Doctor joked.

"Yeah, don't laugh at me," Donna warned.

"And don't you dare," Angel poked him in the side, making him squirm away, ticklish, "I've only JUST started showing her how to pilot the TARDIS," she poked him again, making him take her hand and kiss the back of it.

It was something she had decided to do ever since Mickey had come along as her companion. She liked making the humans feel included, she liked helping them understand things and not feel left out or missing something. She knew all too well how that felt to not be able to follow something others would think of as simple. So she'd always tried to at least show them the basics of the TARDIS controls, simple buttons that they could operate and things like that. She'd only gotten to show Donna the heating and cooling controls and how to turn on the radio and that was NOT enough in her book.

"I know, I know," the Doctor laughed, "I've only JUST started showing her the wonders of the Universe," he agreed, "Far too much still left to see."

"Is that what you say to all the girls Doctor?" Donna teased, egging the Doctor into a small bickering match.

Angel's smile tensed a bit as she watched their bickering. Her stomach was very...unsettled and her head felt like it was buzzing, making her feel slightly light headed. It wasn't quite a headache but just...fuzzy. But then again, that had been one of the more _bumpy_ rides the TARDIS had taken them on, much more jarring than normal for some reason, she'd be surprised if her stomach _hadn't_ gotten all twisted from it. She hadn't really been able to help pilot much as a result either. The Doctor had gotten a bit too excited at the prospect of his first 'Mystery Tour' with his newest companion and shot them off before she could get to the console to help. She'd only _just_ got her footing moments ago.

"I know what it's like," the Doctor told Donna gently, steering the conversation in a more 'serious,' well, as serious as the Doctor could be, direction, "Everything you're feeling right now. The fear, the joy, the wonder, I get that!"

"Seriously? After all this time?"

"Oh yeah," he nodded, "And not just about the travelling," he winked at Angel.

Donna had been right on _so many_ counts earlier, when he'd found them in the wardrobe in the most laughable outfits one could imagine, they'd had quite a surprisingly serious and meaningful conversation with the woman...which was odd when one considered she'd been wearing glasses with bushy eyebrows and a big plastic nose through the whole thing and hadn't seemed to notice. But she'd mentioned that, every time she saw them, they were more in love with each other and that she didn't think that would ever change.

She was SO right.

Even now, even having had Angel with him nearly every waking (and sleeping) second of every hour of every day of every infinite year in the TARDIS since the moment they'd met...she awed him _still_. He didn't doubt she wouldn't ever stop completely captivating him. Everything she did, every expression on her face, every laugh, every smile, ever touch...he'd memorized. He couldn't help it, he was just...drawn to her. She was truly the most exquisite thing he'd ever been able to call his. He was quite certain she might even best _the TARDIS_ in that respect. The box was a wonder, yes, but Angel...she was a _treasure_. He'd been telling her the complete truth after dealing with that killer star, he really _would_ give up everything, all the travelling, even the TARDIS, if it meant keeping her, being with her forever. He just...loved her _so much_ it actually hurt at times to think of what it would be like if anything ever happened to her.

He tried not to, he tried _so hard_ not to _ever_ even _imagine_ that, not wanting to jinx it. But...there WERE times he couldn't help it. When she was in danger, which she DID seem to get into quite a bit of despite his best efforts, sometimes, it seemed, even more so than his companions did. Like falling off the window cleaner's cradle or getting kidnapped in Pompeii...those moments where her life was on the line his mind would, for only a split second before he violently forced it back, go to an image of what he'd be like without her.

It scared him.

Terrified him really.

His world had been so dark after the War, so empty, so...cold. He'd met Rose and she was a good distraction, he could pretend for a moment or two that he was just flying away from Gallifrey, from the Time Lords and all their stuffy rules, and just showing the Universe to his next companion. But that was _all_ she was, a distraction from the truth. Angel though...he couldn't describe what she was to him. If Rose was like a meteor, streaking across his darkened sky, lighting it up for a moment before fading and leaving him in darkness once more...Angel was like the sun, the ever-rising, never-setting sun. She was always there, she was always shining, and happy, and smiling, and laughing, and warm, and...meeting her had become the most important moment in his long life. Meeting her...he didn't feel dark, not with her faith in him and her trust and belief he was a good man, he didn't feel empty with her love shining at him through her eyes and her presence always at his side, he didn't feel cold when she gave such magnificent hugs that literally warmed his hearts and her hand fitting perfectly in his when she held it sending the best feeling up his arm and into his body.

It actually scared him at times how perfect she was for him, how much she balanced him. Whenever he felt himself tipping towards the dark and the rage and the hate...there she was, his guardian angel, lighting the way back.

He couldn't imagine his life without her...

He couldn't imagine what HE'D become without her...

"It's why he keeps going," Angel said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

He just looked at her a moment smiling, before he pressed a kiss to her temple, pouring all his happiness into it, beaming when she smiled happily up at him in return.

"Oh!" Donna grinned, "Alright, then! This is barmy!" she turned and made her way to the door as the Doctor swung his coat on, Angel stepping around the console, her stomach a bit more settled, "I was born in Chiswick," she turned back to them, "I've only ever done package holidays. Now I'm here. This is…I mean, it's…I dunno. It's all so…I don't even _know_ what the word is!" she turned once more and stepped out of the TARDIS onto a planet where snow was falling all around, the wind breezing past them, "Oh, I've got the word. 'Freezing.'"

The Doctor and Angel stepped out moments later, hand-in-hand, as they looked around, "Snow!" the Doctor exclaimed, "Ah! Real snow! Proper snow at last! That's more like it."

"It's lovely," Angel nodded, "What do you think Donna?"

"Bit cold," the woman shook a bit, chilled, even Angel crossed her arms a moment at a particularly nippy gust of wind.

"Look at the view!" the Doctor gushed, looking at the beautiful, though barren, land.

"Yep. A beautiful, _cold_ view," Donna remarked, before glancing at the snow and then smiling at Angel, "Ever made a snow angel before?"

Angel frowned, "A what?"

Donna stared at her, "You've never made one?" Angel shook her head, "Not ever?" and again, "Well then," she marched over to Angel and took her hand, leading her off a few paces, the Doctor watching with a grin, "Follow me," she told Angel before letting herself fall back into the snow.

Angel blinked but did the same, falling with an 'oomph' and a little laugh, "Now what?"

"Swish your arms and legs, like this," Donna demonstarted, Angel sitting up just a bit to see her before doing the same.

The Doctor chuckled and walked to Donna's feet, "Like a hand?" he grinned, reaching out for her when she finished.

"Thank you," Donna nodded, taking his hand and getting up.

"And you," the Doctor turned to Angel, offering his hand to her as well.

She beamed and took it, letting him pull her right up and jump a bit out of the impression she'd made. She looked down at the two impressions, looking very much like the angels her mother had often talked about, and smiled down at them, "Oh that's _wonderful_!"

She loved this! She loved learning new things, especially Earth traditions and little human ideas, they were brilliant!

"A snow you," the Doctor tapped her nose as they looked at the snow angel she'd made, "But I think it's missing something," he remarked.

"What?" Angel frowned, looking at it critically before turning to Donna, "Did I do something wrong?"

Donna shook her head, "No, they're perfect," she said, shaking quite a bit, considering perhaps if she should have waited till she got a jacket or something to do that...speaking of, she glanced back at the TARDIS and dashed for it...

The Doctor just walked around Angel's snow angel as she watched him and knelt down, drawing a circle at the top of its head, a halo, and then leaned forward to make two hearts in the center of its chest, "There we go!" he stood up, brushing off his hands, "A much closer rendition."

Angel laughed and shook her head at him, "I made a snow angel on another planet," she remarked.

He laughed, "Millions of planets, millions of galaxies, and we're on _this_ one," he sighed, nodding at the magnificence of that, "Molto bene!" he walked around the snow angel, to Angel, and pulled her into his arms, spinning her around in a little dance once more, "Belissimo! Says Donna, born in Chiswick," he called to her, though he didn't take his eyes off Angel, nor her off him, "You've had a life of work and sleep," he spun Angel away and pulled her back, "Telly and rent, takeaway dinners, birthdays and Christmases, and two weeks holiday a year and then you end up here! Donna Noble, citizen of the Earth, standing on a different planet. How about that, Donna?" he dipped Angel and looked over, Angel looking upside down, to see the other ginger in question was missing, "Donna?" he pulled Angel back up.

Donna simply stepped out of the TARDIS, a warm fur-lined coat over her, "Sorry. You were saying?"

"Feel better?" Angel smiled as she brushed the lingering snow off her own sweater.

"Lovely, thanks."

"Comfy?" the Doctor asked.

"Yep."

"Can you hear anything inside that?"

"Pardon?"

He laughed, "Right. I was saying, citizen of the Earth…"

Suddenly a rocket flew past them, overhead.

"A rocket!" Donna gaped, "Blimey, a real, proper _rocket_. Now _that's_ what I call a spaceship," she whacked the Doctor's arm, "You've got a _box_ , he's got a _Ferrari_! Come on, let's see where it's going!" she reached out and took Angel's hand, pulling her forward with her as the Doctor looked back at the TARDIS, miffed.

~8~

Outside a warehouse, the rocket landed and a man strode out dressed in a black suit, slightly balding, with an Ood and two guards at his side, "Mr. Halpen, sir," a man in a white lab coat greeted, "Dr. Ryder, new Head of Ood Management," he held out a hand but Halpen ignored it.

"How many dead?" he asked, getting right to the point, "Come on, facts and figures. I haven't flown all this way to discuss the weather. Which, by the way, is freezing."

"Solana has the figures, sir," Ryder motioned for a young Indian woman who was beside him to step forward.

"Solana Mercurio, sir," she greeted as well, "Head of Marketing and Galactic Liaison."

" _Just_ what I need," he rolled his eyes, "A PR woman. I don't want a _word_ of this getting out, is that understood? Now, get to the point, how many dead?" they turned and walked inside, heading to an executive office, the one where Bartle had been killed.

Solana stepped forward and played the security video of what happened, "In the past financial quarter, we've had three deaths in the complex, all attributed to heart attacks or industrial accidents. But now we've captured _this_ on tape, the cause would seem the same."

They watched as the Ood stepped up to Bartle and struck him with its translator, electrocuting him.

"Using the translator ball as a weapon," Halpen frowned, "How does that work?"

"No idea," Ryder sighed, "I'm checking the equipment. Nothing so far."

"Can't see its eyes from this angle," he muttered.

"I think we have to assume…"

"Red-eye."

"I would think so, sir."

"That Ood...what happened to it?"

"Oh, ran for the hills, sir, like a dog. One of the guards fired off a shot. It'll be dead by now."

"Can I ask, what is red-eye, sir?" Solana asked.

"It's some sort of infection. The Ood eyes literally change color."

"Drink!" Halpen called and his Ood prepared a small glass.

"I can't find a source. All the bacterial scans register negative..."

"I'm sorry, but according to your own rules, sir, there's no alcohol allowed on base," Solana eyed the Ood and the glass it was now holding out to Halpen.

"It's hair tonic, if you _must_ know," he told her, taking it from the Ood and gulping it down, "Five years ago I had a full head of hair. Stress," he tapped his head, "That's what this is, stress!"

~8~

The Doctor and Angel walked through the snow, hands still held fast, the Doctor having tugged Angel away from Donna as soon as he'd caught up with them, Donna walking beside them, all of them laughing at something, when Angel just...stopped, "What is it?" the Doctor asked, looking down at her.

"Someone's singing…" she muttered.

The Doctor frowned and listened, hearing the song moments later, "Can you hear that? Donna, take your hood down."

"What?" Donna pulled her hood down.

"That noise, it's like a song…"

"Over there!" Angel pointed, running off. They dashed across the snow to an Ood half buried in it a small ways away.

"What _is_ it?" Donna grimaced a bit as the Doctor and Angel knelt by its side.

"An Ood," the Doctor muttered, pulling his stethoscope from his pocket, "He's called an Ood."

"But its face..."

"Donna, not now."

"He's a 'he,'" Angel told her gently as she took the Ood's hand in her own, "Not an 'it.' It's alright," she reached out her other hand to Donna, gesturing her to join them.

Donna knelt on the other side of the Ood, "Sorry."

The Doctor moved the scope around the Ood's chest, frowning, "I don't know where the heart is. I don't know if he's _got_ a heart. Talk to him," he glanced at the gingers, "Keep him going."

"It's alright," Donna turned to the Ood, "We've got you. Um...what's your name?"

"Designated Ood Delta 50," he said, the sphere he was holding glowing faintly.

"My name's Donna..." Donna spoke into the ball.

"That's only for him," Angel told her softly, nodding at the ball.

"Sorry," she nodded, putting it down, "Oh, God…"

"This is the Doctor," Angel whispered to the Ood, "And I'm the Angel..."

"Just what you need. A doctor and an angel. Couldn't be better, eh?"

"You've been _shot_ ," the Doctor's eyes widened, finding the wound.

"The circle…" the Ood strained to speak.

"No, don't try to talk," Donna shushed.

"The circle must…"

"The circle?" the Doctor shook his head, "What do you mean? Delta 50, what circle? Delta 50? What circle?"

Angel suddenly pulled the Doctor away as the Ood opened its eyes to reveal they were red. Donna jumped back as the Ood sat up and growled...before collapsing, dead.

"He's gone," Donna blinked, feeling tears in her eyes as she moved over to the Ood once more.

"Careful!" the Doctor called.

"There you are, sweetheart," Donna rested a hand on its chest for a moment before gently running a hand along its head, "We were too late. What do we do, do we bury him?"

"The snow will take care of that."

"Who was he?" Donna turned to them, "What's an Ood?"

"They're servants of humans in the 42nd century. Mildly telepathic."

"That's what the song was," Angel realized, "It was him, his mind calling out to the other Ood."

"I couldn't hear anything," Donna mumbled, getting up, "He sang as he was dying."

"His eyes turned _red_ ," the Doctor looked down at it, suspicious.

"What's that mean?"

"Trouble," he sighed, "Come on," he took Angel's hand and led them off, "The Ood are harmless and completely benign."

"Except when we met them last time," Angel reminded him, before explaining to Donna, "There was this...thing..." she supplied, not wanting to frighten the woman by implying the Devil was real, even if he had been dealt with, "That started to control them. It turned their eyes red in the process..."

"What sort of thing?" Donna frowned.

"Long story," the Doctor murmured.

"Long walk."

"It was the Devil."

"If you're gonna take the mickey, I'll just put my hood back up."

"Must be something different this time, though, something closer to home…" he looked over the crest of a small snow hill and grinned, "Ah ha! Civilization!"

And there it was, a factory, a string of warehouses really, with 'Ood Operations' written on it.

~8~

Solana smiled as she stood before a group of potential buyers, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Ood-Sphere and isn't it bracing? Here are your information packs with vouchers, 3D tickets, and a map of the complex," an Ood stepped forward and passed out packets of papers, "My name's Solana, Head of Marketing. I'm sure we've all spoken on the vid-phone. Now if you'd like to follow me…"

"Sorry, sorry!" the Doctor cut in, he, Angel, and Donna pushing through the crowd to join them, "We're late! Don't mind us! Hello. The guards let us through."

"And you would be?"

"The Angel, the Doctor, and Donna Noble," the Doctor flashed her the psychic paper.

"Representing the Noble Corporation, PLC Limited, Intergalactic," Donna nodded.

"Nice to meet you," Angel gave her a little wave.

"Must have fallen off my list," Solana smiled apologetically, "My apologies, it won't happen again. Now then, Miss Angel, Dr. Noble, Mrs. Noble, if you'd like to come with me..."

"Oh, no, no, no," the Doctor shook his head, gesturing at Donna, needing them _all_ to understand Donna was NOT his Mate, "We're not married."

"We're _so_ not married," Donna added.

"Never."

"Never _ever_."

"My Mate," the Doctor put his arm around Angel and pulled her close, "Right here."

"My sister," Angel added, nodding her head at Donna, "Right there."

"Of course," Solana eyed them a bit oddly, "Here is your information pack. Vouchers inside," she held one out to the Doctor, "Now, if you'd like to come with me, the executive suites are nice and warm."

Angel paused a moment from stepping forward and looked back, a second before an alarm went off.

The Doctor followed her gaze and frowned, "Ooh, what's that? Sounds like an alarm."

~8~

"For God's sake, we've got _buyers_ arriving!" Halpen shouted in the office, "Who sounded the alarm? Drink!"

~8~

"It's just a siren for the end of the work shift," Solana smiled tensely.

Angel eyed her suspiciously, knowing she was lying, she was hiding something.

"Now then, this way! Quick as you can!"

The buyers and the trio shuffled inside, not seeing Solana's smile drop as she glanced back as well.

~8~

"Mr. Kess, what the hell's going on?" Halpen called over a comm..

"Ood on the loose, sir," Kess called back, "Looks like we've got another one."

"Red-eye?"

"As red as sin, sir. Don't worry, Mr. Halpen, we're on it."

~8~

An Ood ran out behind the patrol and a guard spotted him, "Sir!"

Kess turned, "Alright, lads, go! Get him!" they gave chase.

~8~

Solana stood before the group of buyers, a large screen bearing the 'Ood Operations' logo on the wall behind her, as she spoke about the Ood, three of which were now standing on pedestals, "As you can see, the Ood are happy to serve and we keep them in facilities of the highest standards…"

~8~

The Ood ran for his life as Kess and the guards chased him.

~8~

"Here at the Double-O, that's Ood Operations, we like to think of the Ood as our trusted friends."

~8~

"He's over there!" Kess shouted, "You two follow me!"

~8~

"We keep the Ood healthy, safe and educated..."

~8~

"Take him alive!"

~8~

"We don't just _breed_ the Ood, we make them _better_..."

~8~

The Ood cowered behind some barrels.

~8~

"Because at heart, what is an Ood...but an extension of us?"

~8~

Kess and his men found the poor thing.

~8~

"If your Ood is happy..."

~8~

Kess raised his weapon as the Ood turned, eyes glowing red as he growled, and fired...

~8~

Angel flinched a bit, her gaze turning to the Ood a moment, _swearing_ she'd seen _them_ flinch as well.

"You alright?" the Doctor asked her quietly, having felt her flinch with his arm around her.

"Then you'll be happy too," Solana finished with a small nod of her head, the buyers clapping at the delightful presentation.

"She's lying," Angel whispered, her eye now on Solana.

The Doctor frowned, "About what?"

"Everything," she looked up at him, "The Ood, the siren, how they're happy," she shook her head and turned back to the Ood, "They're _not_ happy. They're just...I dunno, they're not what she says they are. She's lying."

The Doctor nodded, his own worries confirmed.

~8~

"Mr. Halpen, this is a bit more than red-eye, sir," Kess called into the comm. as he watched the Ood foam at the mouth, "This is something new. It's _rabid_ , sir."

"Take it to Dr. Ryder," Halpen ordered, "Just...get it out of sight!"

~8~

"Sales figures needed by 1900, sir," a man's voice came over the comm. to Halpen as he worked in an office of Ood Operations.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he muttered, getting up from his desk and walking over to the mirror where his Ood followed, rubbing his head, "What do you think? Growing back? Just a little bit?" the Ood just blinked, "Like _you'd_ know."

~8~

The Doctor frowned as he, Angel, and Donna watched Solana approach the three Ood on pedestals, "I'd now like to point out a new innovation from Ood Operations. We've introduced a variety package with the Ood translator ball. You can now have the standard setting. How are you today, Ood?"

"I'm perfectly well, thank you," he said in a normal voice.

"Or perhaps after a stressful day, a little something for the gentlemen. How are you, Ood?"

"All the better for seeing you," a sensual, female voice spoke.

"And the comedy classic option. Ood, you dropped something."

"D'oh!" the third Ood mimicked Homer Simpson, getting a laugh from the buyers.

"All that for only five additional credits. The details are in your brochures. Now, there's plenty more food and drink, so don't hold back."

"Why don't you go get something to eat," the Doctor murmured to Angel, though his gaze was on a small control board attached to the screen on the wall.

She shook her head, "I'm not hungry," she told him, staring at the Ood, she really couldn't even _think_ about eating right now, there was just...something SO wrong here.

He nodded, understanding, and took her hand, leading her over to the control board as he slipped on his specs and switched it on while Donna went to get a drink before heading over as well, "Ah, got it," he brought up a picture of space, "The Ood-Sphere. I've been to this solar system before, years ago. Ages. Close to the planet Sense-Sphere. Let's widen it out..."

"The year 4126," Angel smiled a bit at that at least, she was always very good with time, "That is the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire."

"4126?" Donna gaped, staring at the screen, "It's 4126? I'm in 4126?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed :)


	13. Planet of the Ood: The Song of Captivity

"It's good, isn't it?" the Doctor smiled at Donna's awe, Angel beaming at it.

"What's the Earth like now?" Donna wondered.

"A bit full, but you see, the empire stretches out across three galaxies," he brought up red rings around three different galaxy clusters that had appeared on the screen.

"It's weird," Donna shook her head, "I mean, it's brilliant, but...back home, the papers and the telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live, global warming, flooding, all the bees disappearing."

"Yeah," Angel started to frown now, thoughtful, "That thing about the bees is really weird," she didn't know what it was, but something just kept striking her every time it was brought up.

"But look at us, we're _everywhere_ ," Donna laughed, "Is that good or bad, though? I mean, are we like explorers or more like a virus?"

"Sometimes I wonder," the Doctor shrugged.

"Hey!" Angel laughed, nudging him, "The humans are incredible!"

"I know, I know," he smiled, winding his arm around her waist.

They really were and Angel seemed to see it more than he could at times. He was well aware of how...bad...humans could be. Sometimes he felt like...there were things they did that just...hit him so hard that he actually felt like he just had to turn away in shame. But Angel, she saw the good in everything, in the humans, in the Master, in HIM. And if _she_ could see it, even after having been chained up and studied by the humans for 50 years, then _he_ could too. It was like how he always brought companions along, after a while...the Universe was just...the Universe. Clumps of planets, stars, species, all the same in a way, it just...got old after a while. But when his companions saw it all, the awe and amazement in their eyes, when THEY saw it, HE could see it too.

"What are the red dots?" Donna asked, seeing red dots inside the clusters.

"Ood distribution centers."

"Across three galaxies? Don't the Ood get a say in this?" she turned and headed for an Ood.

"She's _just_ like Rose," Angel remarked to the Doctor before they joined her, thinking of Rose's reaction to the Ood on Kroptor.

The blonde had been as offended as the ginger was when she'd learned how the Ood were just expected to serve with no way to refuse the humans. Oh, she missed Rose...and Mickey...and Martha...and Jack. It was even worse with Jack, with Rose and Mickey she missed them but she knew she couldn't just hop in the TARDIS and go see them, she COULD see Jack she just...things got in the way or they got caught up in an adventure or they ended up on the other side of the galaxy...

' _We'll go see Jack,_ ' the Doctor promised her silently, he knew how much she missed her 'brother' and how much she'd been wanting to be able to call herself 'Angie Harkness' since the man had mentioned it. She was usually very happy on their trips, but sometimes there were moments where something was said or done that reminded her of Jack and she'd grow just a little sad. She HAD offered for him to be her next companion and, though she understood why he'd said no, he could tell that Angel had just wanted to be able to see the man more. He promised himself, soon, they'd go and see Jack, maybe introduce Donna and...

He blinked, Jack and DONNA? On second thought...he wasn't quite sure the Universe could handle that...

' _That's my brother and sister you're thinking about Theta,_ ' Angel reminded him with a small mental laugh, ' _It would be rather wrong for them to flirt._ '

' _They're not REALLY siblings though,_ ' he countered.

' _They're as good as now,_ ' she nodded firmly, ' _I just have to introduce Jack to his newest sibling first,_ ' she smiled at the thought, her two 'older siblings' finally meeting. It was quite funny when she thought about just how similar both her older siblings were. It was interesting how that worked out.

The Doctor chuckled, shaking his head, ' _He won't like that there's one less person for him to flirt with in the world._ '

She just smiled secretively, Jack probably only wanted to flirt with Ianto at the moment, probably for a good long while really.

' _He didn't seem to feel that way when he stopped flirting with me,_ ' she remarked, grinning just a little bit more at that, she knew it was wrong, but she loved bringing up when Jack had flirted with her because the Doctor got all cute about it. She remembered how uncomfortable she'd felt with it in her last body, but this one seemed to love teasing the Doctor with it. The man had literally _growled_ at Jack once, and that was BEFORE he'd regenerated, ' _YOU seemed rather relieved and happy about that too..._ '

' _Yes, well,_ ' he blushed a bit, ' _He was flirting with my Mate!_ '

' _I wasn't your Mate then Theta,_ ' she reminded him, a teasing smile on her face, she _loved_ seeing him like that, getting all worked up about other men flirting with her. She really didn't realize when they were, in this body she truly didn't, but...after a while of the strange lines they kept trying to use that had little to do with the conversation and the irritation and possessiveness she could feel rising from the Doctor she usually _could_ work out when she was being flirted with.

' _Nella,_ ' he paused, taking her hand, letting Donna walk ahead of them, needing to look Angel in the eye for this one. He smiled at her, his hand lightly stroking circles over her knuckles, his other hand reaching up to touch her cheeck, ' _You may be a precog, you may see the future, and you may be the one true soothsayer in the Universe...but I have a prophecy of my own._ '

She frowned, tilting her head, ' _What?_ '

He just looked at her, his gaze so soft that she shivered a bit, ' _You were meant to be my Mate, you were ALWAYS meant to be my Mate. Before we even met, we were destined to be together._ '

She let out a breath at the conviction in his voice, the honesty in his eyes, he _truly_ believed that, with every fiber of his being, ' _You really think so?_ '

' _I'm honestly surprised I didn't meet you before the War,_ ' he admitted.

' _You were too stubborn to admit you'd broken the TARDIS before the War,_ ' she joked, ' _But...do you REALLY think that?_ '

He let out a little laugh, kissing the back of her hand, ' _What was the first thing you thought of when you saw me in Van Statten's museum? The first thought in your mind the moment our eyes met._ '

' _Finally,_ ' she answered promptly, she hadn't known what it meant at the time, it wasn't a 'finally!' like she was exasperated to finally getting out of there, but more of...like when something you had been waiting for, for such a long time, finally happened.

He nodded, ' _I thought...mine,_ ' he laughed again, pulling her into his arms with a possessive squeeze, she could vaguely imagine his last self laughing the same way, ' _That's the first thing I thought when I saw you, that you were mine. Didn't understand it for a second and I understand everything,_ ' she laughed and rolled her eyes at that bit of ego shining through, ' _But I couldn't help it, that's what I thought. Don't you see Nella?_ ' she shook her head, ' _My mind, well, my unconscious mind at least, but my hearts, my soul...they knew we were meant for each other before we did. You,_ ' he leaned in and kissed her, his voice still speaking in her mind as he did so, ' _Were meant to be mine, my Mate._ '

She was beaming as she pulled away, ' _You sounded like me just now, I wonder if psychic is contagious?_ '

' _I wonder if psychic is hereditery,_ ' he countered, before stiffening, ' _Sorry..._ '

' _It's fine,_ ' she cut in, she knew he wanted children one day, one day but not right now.

She hadn't ever given much thought to it, she'd never really imagined herself Mated so she'd never thought of children. It would take a while before she could see herself as being a mother, but, she had to admit, one day, it might be nice to have a child with her Mate, one day. The Universe could do with more Doctors running around.

' _But we can't do that till we finish Mating,_ ' she reminded him, nudging him a bit, making a point.

He laughed and squeezed her hand, ' _We can't exactly do that right now._ '

Angel grimaced a bit, ' _Wouldn't want to scar Donna._ '

' _We'll do it soon Nella, I promise._ '

She nodded, glancing at him, ' _You know...I have a prophecy too._ '

' _Oh?_ ' he smiled.

' _You and I are going to be together forever,_ ' she told him, kissing his scarred knuckles.

His breath left him at that, ' _You feel that?_ '

' _No,_ ' she admitted, ' _I can't see that far ahead, but I believe it with everything I have._ '

' _Me too,_ ' he leaned in and kissed her again.

"Oi!" Donna's voice broke through their moment and they pulled apart to see her standing beside them, her arms crossed, "Blimey you two get lost in the moment don't you?"

She'd turned around, realizing they'd stopped, to see them staring at each other in the middle of the room, their expressions making her think they were having some sort of conversation with their eyes and she'd waited...and waited...and waited...and when they'd kissed for a second time she knew she should probably remind them about the Ood.

"Sorry," Angel blushed, though she was smiling widely.

"Come on then!" she reached out and pulled Angel after her as she walked right up to an Ood, "Um...sorry, but..." she tapped the Ood's shoulder, "Hello. Tell me, are you all like this?"

"I do not understand, miss," the Ood turned to her.

"Why do you say, ' _miss_?' Do I look _single_?"

"You better be single," Angel laughed, "I haven't gotten that wedding invitation yet."

"Back to the point," the Doctor whispered.

"Yeah," Donna shook her head, looking at the Ood, "What I mean is, are there any _free_ Ood? Are there any Ood running wild somewhere like wildebeest?"

"All Ood are born to serve," the Ood stated, "Otherwise we would die."

"You can't have _started_ like that. Before the humans…" his head started to twitch, "What were you like?"

"The circle."

"What do you mean?" the Doctor stared at it intently, "What circle?"

"The circ…the circle…must…"

"Be broken," Angel finished for the Ood as he nodded, the words just...coming to her.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Solana gathered them again, "All Ood to hospitality stations, please."

The Ood turned, heading out of the room, as the Doctor pulled off his specs and reached into his pocket for the map of the complex, "I've had enough of the schmoozing. Do you fancy going off the beaten track?"

"A Rough Guide to the Ood-Sphere?" Donna joked, "Works for me."

"Me too," Angel agreed, taking the Doctor's hand.

"Yeah," the Doctor grinned, squeezing hers.

~8~

Halpen, Ryder, and his Ood, stood in a cell where the red-eyed Ood Kess had captured was chained, growling and sputtering, bleeding from a wound in its gut, "What the hell's wrong with it?" Halpen demanded.

"It's obviously Stage 2 Red-Eye," Ryder remarked, "Whatever that means."

"Ood Sigma, have you seen this before?" Halpen turned to his Ood.

"Humanity defines us, sir," Sigma replied, "We look to you for answers."

"Fat lot of good, all of you. We're exporting hundreds of _thousands_ of Ood to all civilized planets. If they turn rabid, you know what it'll mean."

"There's only one thing I haven't checked, sir, Warehouse 15," Ryder said.

"Why should _that_ cause trouble? It's been two centuries now. No change, not ever. Drink!"

Sigma turned to prepare the hair tonic.

"I know it's restricted access. But if I'm gonna work on this, I should see it. Just in case."

"Can't stand the place," he muttered, gulping the drink down, "Still, Warehouse 15, then. Come on," he turned and headed out the door.

"What about this one, sir?"

"Well, I'd suggest a post-mortem, which means it's gotta be dead first," Halpen remarked, walking out as the chained Ood became more enraged. Two guards stepped forward and then gunshots rang out.

~8~

Angel shivered, rubbing her head, as they walked over to a locked gate just outside the complex, the Doctor sonicing the lock, "Ood Shift 8 commencing," a speaker announced, "I repeat, Ood Shift 8 commencing."

The Doctor opened the gate and stepped in with the girls, to see they were clearly in a part of the complex visitors were _not_ meant to be. They climbed up some stairs and looked down over a space between the warehouses where the Ood were being led through at a march. One Ood tripped, falling down to its knees, as Kess stalked over to it, "Get up," he commanded, "I said, get up!" he snapped a whip he was holding.

"Servants?" Donna scoffed, "They're _slaves_."

"Get up!" Kess shouted as the Ood stood, "March!"

"Last time we met the Ood, I never thought, never asked..." the Doctor breathed.

"That's not like you," Donna murmured.

"We were busy," he defended feebly, "So busy we couldn't save them."

" _I_ couldn't save them," Angel corrected, thinking back to that time, "I had to let the Ood go. I could barely control the Vortex long enough to free _Toby_ from the Beast's control, I just…didn't have time or strength enough to…"

The Doctor took her hand, gently running his thumb along her knuckles soothingly, seeing how upset she was getting over having not been able to help the Ood, "I reckon we owe them one," he smiled down at her, getting her to smile back.

"That looks like the boss," Donna said quietly as Halpen, Ryder, and Sigma walked across the area.

Angel stared at the man and blinked...

... _the red-eyed Ood poured out of the shipping containers, snarling at them all_...

'... _the infection is about to be sterilized_...'

... _there was a click of a weapon behind them and they turned to see a gun held at them_...

"Let's keep out of his way," the Doctor stepped back, "Come on," he tugged Angel along as she stared back at the balding man.

That man...he'd been the one to hold the gun at them...

~8~

"How long since you went inside?" Ryder asked as they stopped at the door to the infamous Warehouse 15.

"Must be ten years ago," he remarked, entering a code on a keypad.

"Warehouse 15..." the computer began.

"My father brought me here when I was six years old."

"Security protocol initiated."

"God, the _stench_ of it!"

"Warehouse 15: door open."

Halpen stepped inside, holding a hand to his mouth while Ryder quickly put a handkerchief over his nose and mouth, both men grimacing at the smell. They walked over to a railing, looking down at something as electricity crackled, "Incredible," Ryder remarked, staring.

"Like I said, nothing's changed," Halpen sneered.

"I've read the documents, but...it doesn't quite prepare you."

"Is it just me, or does it feel like it's looking at you?"

"I think I understand the border mechanics well enough. I'll check the signal," he walked over to a nearby panel and checked the instruments.

"I suppose it's home sweet home to you," Halpen turned to Sigma, "What do you think?"

"I have no opinion, sir," Sigma replied.

"Well...say hello to daddy."

"Nothing," Ryder called, "The barrier's intact. No abnormal signal. Same as it's been for 200 years."

"Mr. Halpen, those three people from the Noble Corporation failed to pass security checks," Solana came over the comm., "There's no such company. The Noble Corporation doesn't exist. And on top of that, they seem to have gone missing, sir, the Doctor, the Angel, and Miss Noble."

" _Just_ what I need," Halpen grumbled, "Start a search. _No_ alarms, got that? Keep it _quiet_ ," he turned off the comm., "You see?" he glanced at Ryder, pointing at his head, "Hair loss. Drink!" he took the drink from Sigma and leaned over the railing, "Tell you what, old friend...have this one on me. Cheers," he poured the drink over the side as a whoosh and a roar reached him. Halpen held out the glass, having Sigma refill it, "I think we're done here," he gulped it down and left.

"Sorry," Ryder replied when he bumped into Sigma on his way out.

Sigma paused at Ryder's kind treatment and apology, looking over the railing at the thing below, before following.

~8~

The Doctor was walking quickly past the warehouses, looking at the map intently, when Angel stopped at one in particular and frowned at the door. Donna, who had been walking beside her, stopped as well, glancing over at the Doctor to see if he would notice. When he just kept walking, too absorbed in looking at the map, she whistled loudly, making him jump and duck before turning back.

"Where did you learn to whistle?" he asked her, recalling her failed attempt at catching a cab.

"West Ham, every Saturday," she smirked.

"There's something in here Doctor," Angel called, her hand resting on the door.

He walked over and soniced the lock, taking her hand off the door to hold as he pushed the door open. They stepped in to see a _massive_ amount of shipping containers stacked inside with a large, metal claw running along a track set in the ceiling to lift them and transfer them, "Ood Export," the Doctor nodded, "You see?" he gestured at the claw, "Lifts up the containers, takes 'em to the rocket ships. Ready to be flown out all over the three galaxies."

"What, you mean, these containers are full of..." Donna trailed.

"What do you think?" the Doctor asked as they walked to the closest container. He moved to sonic the lock on that when Angel put her hand on his arm, stopping him.

"It's open," she murmured, reaching forward herself to pull the door open, Ood standing inside, scores of them, crowded together in lines.

"Oh, it stinks," Donna grimaced, trying to cover her mouth, "How many of 'em do you think there are in each one?"

"A hundred?"

"More," Angel said sadly, looking at the Ood with tears in her eyes, the Doctor instinctively moving his arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm with his one hand.

"A great, big empire, built on slavery," Donna scoffed.

"It's not so different from your time," the Doctor shot back.

"Oi, I haven't got slaves."

"Who do you think made your clothes?"

"Is that why you travel round with a human at your side? It's not so you can show them the wonders of the Universe, it's so you can take cheap shots."

"Sorry."

"Well, don't. Spaceman, else me and Sis are gonna bean you one," the Doctor smiled as Donna turned to the Ood inside, "I don't understand, Angel was right, the door was open, why didn't you just run away?"

"For what reason?" an Ood tilted his head.

"You could be free."

"I do not understand the concept."

"What _is_ it with that Persil ball? I mean, they're not born with it, are they? Why do they have to be all...plugged in?"

"Ood…" Angel began, taking a small step forward, out of the Doctor's arm as he watched her carefully, knowing the Ood eyes could turn red at any moment, "The circle..."

"The circle must be broken," they all recited.

"Whoa, that is creepy," Donna whispered.

"What is the circle?" Angel asked, blinking, " _Where_ is it?"

"The circle must be broken."

"Why?" the Doctor frowned.

"So that we can sing."

~8~

Kess walked into the same warehouse as the trio had, smirking, two guards on either side of him, "Mr. Halpen, I'm in Ood cargo," he called into the comm., "I found your unwanted guests," he turned to the guards, "Go!" he hit a button and alarms rang out.

~8~

"That's us!" the Doctor yelled, looking up at the loud noise, "Come on!" he grabbed Angel's hand, pulling her back and led them out.

~8~

"Cut the alarms!" Halpen shouted in the office, "I said no alarms!"

~8~

Solana tensely smiled at the buyers as they looked around at the alarms, "Nothing to worry about, ladies and gentlemen. It's just a...fire drill. We test the alarm at this time every day. If you'll excuse me," she quickly made her way out of the room.

~8~

The trio ran through the labyrinth of shipping containers, when Donna stopped running, "Doctor! Angel! There's a door!"

But the Doctor hadn't heard her, continuing to run and pull Angel with him.

Donna turned around to follow them again...when the door burst open and guards ran in, "Don't move!" a guard ordered Donna.

~8~

"Doctor!" Angel gasped, pulling him to a stop as she panted, "Donna!"

He looked around, realizing the woman wasn't with them, "Where have you gone?"

"Stay where you are!" a guard called to them as they caught up.

The Doctor just grabbed Angel's hand and they were off again as the guards ran after them.

~8~

"Keep her there for now," a guard pushed Donna into a container with some Ood.

~8~

Kess walked onto a catwalk, looking down on the Doctor and Angel as they ran through the warehouse, "Donna?" the Doctor was yelling, "Where are you?!"

"All guards withdraw," he ordered into his comm..

"This way!" Angel pulled the Doctor around a corner, leading him back towards Donna.

"Sir?" a guard asked.

"I said withdraw," Kess repeated, "Keep to the perimeter. I've got this one," he watched as the Doctor stopped and pressed the two of them against a container, listening, "I've always wanted to do this," he smirked, turning on the equipment before him and starting the claw, steering it towards the Doctor and Angel as they ran again, trying to open a container, "Container locked. Ha!"

Angel grabbed the Doctor's hand and pulled him away as the huge metal claw chased after them along its track, Kess having _far_ too much fun as he sent it smashing down behind them, _just_ missing Angel.

~8~

"Can you help me?" Donna asked the Ood as one raised its head, its eyes red, "Oh, no you don't."

~8~

The claw gained on them as Angel began to tire, shaken from how close the claw had come to her earlier, the Doctor taking the lead now.

~8~

"What have I done?" Donna stepped back, "I'm not one of that lot. I'm on _your_ side!"

~8~

The claw barely missed the Doctor this time, clipping him, causing him to fall to the floor, forcing himself to let go of Angel's hand so as not to slow her down or trip her too, stumbling to get up as they kept on running.

~8~

"Stay where you are, that's an order!" Donna shouted, "I said _stay_!" but when the first Ood stepped towards her, she turned and pounded on the doors, "Doctor! Angel!"

~8~

The claw swung down again and knocked the Doctor to the floor, sending him into barrels nearby, taking Angel with him this time.

Kess released the claw, dropping it, ready to crush them, when a hand turned off the control, halting the claw inches from where the Doctor had turned to roll himself on top of Angel to shield her, both of them panting.

"You heard the instructions," Solana glared at Kess, "Mr. Halpen wants them _alive_."

~8~

"Doctor, get me out!" Donna screamed, "Angel, help!"

~8~

Two guards each brought the Doctor and Angel back to the container holding Donna, who was still yelling inside it, "Angel, get me out of here! Doctor!"

"If you don't do what she says, you're really in trouble," the Doctor told a guard, "Not from us, from her."

"Unlock the container," Kess commanded.

Donna bolted out as soon as the doors were open and threw herself at the Doctor and Angel who hugged her back, "Doctor! Angel!"

"It's alright," Angel smiled at her wearily, that run had taken a lot out of her for some reason, "We've got you, you're safe..."

"Never mind about me, what about _them_?" Donna pointed, the red-eyed Ood poured out of the shipping containers, snarling at them all.

"Red alert!" Kess cried as the Ood began to attack, using their translators to electrocute the men, "Fire!" the guards shot at the Ood while the Doctor, Angel, and Donna escaped, only for another container to open and more Ood to pour out, Angel grabbing the Doctor's hand to lead them away, "Shoot to kill!"

~8~

The trio and Solana flew out of the doors, out of the warehouse, running far enough away that they couldn't hear the gunfire, before daring to stop for a moment to take a breath, "If the people back on Earth knew what was going on here..." Donna panted.

"Don't be stupid," Solana glared, "Of _course_ they know."

"They know how you treat the Ood?"

"They don't ask. Same thing."

"Solana, the Ood aren't _born_ like this," the Doctor moved in front of her, "They _can't_ be. A species born to serve could never evolve in the first place."

"How do you make them listen?" Angel asked, "What are you _doing_ to them?!"

The Doctor took her hand, not just feeling, but hearing her getting upset about it all. The Ood...they were somehow being _forced_ to obey, that much was clear, they were being forced into the role of slaves and that was upsetting _both_ of them to know the humans were doing it. It was hard to see the good in it this time...

"That has nothing to do with me," Solana stepped back.

"What, because you don't ask?" the Doctor glared.

"That's Dr. Ryder's territory."

"Where is he?" the Doctor held out the map to her, "What part of the complex?" she hesitated, "I could help with the red-eye. Now _show_ me!"

Solana pointed to an area, "There, beyond the red section.

"Come with us," the Doctor looked at her, "You've seen the warehouse, you can't agree with all this."

"You know Ood Operations better than we do," Angel added, "You could help us. Please."

Solana looked between them, before swallowing, her choice made, and yelling, "They're over here! Guards, they're over here!"

The trio ran as the guards caught up, "Male and female suspects escaping," Kess called, "Westbridge corridor."

"Mr. Halpen, I found the three of them," Solana reported into the comm., "They're heading for Ood Conversion."

"On my way," Halpen replied.

~8~

"Mr. Kess, what's the situation?" Halpen stood in his office on the comm..

"We've contained it, sir," Kess reported, "The red-eye seems to be permanent this time, it's not fading. Worse than that, sir, there's more of them going rabid," there was growling on the other end, "In my opinion, sir, I think we've lost them, the entire batch contaminated."

"What's causing it? Why now? What's changed?" he rubbed his head and a chunk of hair came out in his hand, wonderful, "How many Ood in total?"

"I would say about 2,000, sir."

"We can write them off. That's what insurance is for," he turned to Sigma, "Drink. We've plenty more on the breeding farms. Let's start again," he gulped the drink, "Fetch the canisters. No survivors."

"My pleasure, sir," Kess replied, sounding rather pleased, "You lot, canisters," and then the comm. cut off.

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and Donna skid to a halt, running back they way they came and turning a different corner...when they caught sight of more guards ahead of them.

"This way!" Angel shouted, grabbing the Doctor's hand and leading them through the maze of warehouses.

~8~

Halpen straightened his tie before heading out to Ood Conversion, Sigma following, ever faithful.

~8~

"Can you hear it?" Angel asked the Doctor as she stopped and panted, "We didn't need the map to find our way."

He looked at the door to a warehouse, hearing what she heard, and soniced the lock, opening it and rushing in with the girls before sonicing it closed behind them, "Does that mean we're locked in?" Donna gasped.

"Listen," the Doctor whispered, "Listen, listen, listen, listen," they headed down the nearest set of steps, pausing when they saw nothing but cages everywhere, rows of them against the walls, "Oh, my head."

"What is it?"

"Can't you hear it?" Angel asked, rubbing her head again, massaging her temples really, "The singing?" they looked over to see a group of Ood huddled together in one of the cages when the Doctor switched on a light.

"They look different to the others."

"That's because they're natural-born Ood," the Doctor explained, "Unprocessed. Before they're adapted to slavery. Unspoiled."

Angel crouched down in front of the cage, "That's what we've been hearing, _their_ song."

"I can't hear it," Donna crouched down beside her.

"Do you want to?" Angel glanced at her.

"Yeah," she faced her friend.

"It's the song of captivity," the Doctor warned.

"Let me hear it."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww ^-^ Thella is just. So. FLUFFY! -dies-
> 
> -pulls a Jack and gasps(!) back to life- I'm back! Have to say, if you thought the fluff was good here...next chapter we get...the pool :)


	14. Planet of the Ood: The Song of Freedom

The Doctor reached out to let Donna hear the song when Angel put her hand on his arm, stopping him, "Let me," she asked.

"You sure?" he looked at her.

She nodded, "It's like with Peter," she reminded him of the architect of the Globe. He sat back and gestured her on. She smiled and kissed his cheek before turning to Donna, placing her fingertips on the woman's temples, "It'll be ok Donna," she reassured her, "Just...open your mind," she closed her eyes, "Just...let yourself hear it...can you hear them singing?"

Donna gasped, hearing the melody in her mind, turning to face the Ood, crying silently as she listened to their song, though she could only stand it for a few moments before...

"Take it away."

"You sure?" the Doctor asked.

"I can't bear it," she nodded as the Doctor reached out this time and did as Angel had, "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Angel whispered, taking her hand.

"But you can still hear it," she looked at them.

"All the time," the Doctor nodded.

~8~

Halpen, Ryder, and Solana arrived outside Ood Conversion where a guard was standing outside, "Well, what's the hold-up?" Halpen demanded.

"The experimentation lab's maximum security," Ryder explained, "They've fused the system."

"Don't just _stand_ there!" Halpen turned to the guard, "Get bolt cutters! Rip that door off! Solana, go back to the reps. I don't want any of them wandering off and seeing this. And get them away from the Ood, just in case. Hurry up!"

"Yes, sir," Solana nodded before she ran off.

~8~

The Doctor soniced the cage when Donna heard a noise from above, "They're breaking in."

"Ah, let 'em," the Doctor moved into the cage with Angel as the Ood tried to back away in fear.

"Hey, hey," Angel said gently, kneeling before them and holding up her hands, meaning no harm as she gently made her way towards them on her knees, "It's alright," she smiled at them, "What are you holding sweetheart?" an Ood turned to look at her, shy, "It's ok, I'm a friend," she gestured to the three of them, "We all are," and then starting with the Doctor, introduced them, "Doctor, Donna, Angel, friends. Look at me," she smiled, "I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise," she crossed her hearts and held out her hand, "Want to show me?" the Ood came over to her, "That's wonderful. Sharing's excellent isn't it? Go on..."

' _You're wonderful, you know,_ ' the Doctor's voice whispered to her, unwilling to speak and break the moment. He'd seen it in her mind at times, whenever he slipped and mentioned children, he knew she wasn't against them, but...he knew she couldn't seem to see herself as a mother. Taking care of the TARDISes, the clever little living machines was one thing, babies, flesh and blood, were another. She was afraid she wouldn't know where to begin. But this, right here, this proved she was just a natural at taking care of others, at calming them, at protecting them...she was so a mother even if she didn't realize it.

The Ood held out his cupped hand and pulled the top one off...

"Is that…" Donna swallowed hard at the pink ball in the alien's hand.

"It's a brain," the Doctor nodded, kneeling beside Angel, his hand resting on the small of her back, "A hindbrain. The Ood are born with a secondary brain. Like the amygdale in humans, it process memory and emotion. You get rid of that, you wouldn't be Donna anymore. You'd be like an Ood. A processed Ood."

"So the company...cuts off their brains…"

"And stitches on the translator."

"Like a lobotomy. I spent all that time looking for you two, because I thought it would be so wonderful out here. I want to go home."

The Doctor and Angel looked at her, stunned and hurt by her wish...when there was a bang above them, "They're with the Ood, sir!" a guard shouted.

The Doctor jumped to his feet and pulled the cage door shut, "What are you gonna do, then? Arrest us? Lock us up? Well, you're too late! Ha!"

~8~

The Doctor, Donna, and Angel were handcuffed to a pole in Halpen's office by two guards, "Why don't you just come out and say it?" Halpen glared, "FOTO activists."

"If that's what Friends of the Ood are trying to prove, then yes," the Doctor nodded.

"The Ood were nothing without us, just animals roaming around on the ice."

"That's because you can't _hear_ them," Angel told him quietly, she could empathize entirely with them, the Mental Dampener Van Statten had forced on her...she'd screamed for ages but her thoughts were forced quiet, no one could hear her. Like the Ood, they were trying to break free with their song but just kept getting silenced.

"They _welcomed_ it! It's not as if they put up a fight."

"You idiot!" Donna spat, "They're born with their _brain_ in their _hands_ , don't you see? That makes them peaceful! They've got to be because a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets."

"Nice one," the Doctor smiled.

"Thank you."

"The system's worked for 200 years," Halpen continued, "All we've got is a rogue batch. But the infection is about to be sterilized," he held up a comm. as Angel winced at those words, "Mr. Kess, how do we stand?"

"Canisters primed, sir," Kess reported, "As soon as the core heats up, the gas is released. Give it 200 marks...and counting."

"You're going to _gas_ them?!" the Doctor asked, horrified.

"Kill the livestock," Halpen waved him off, "The classic foot-and-mouth solution. Still works."

~8~

Kess chuckled and put on a gasmask.

~8~

The unprocessed Ood in the warehouse put their hands out to the side, touching each other as they formed a circle, singing.

~8~

The fenced-in, red-eyed Ood stood in a circle their hands raised to their sides much the same.

~8~

Solana arrived back in the reception area where the buyers were still eating and drinking, "I'm sorry. If I could ask you one more time, would all the reps please come through to the education suites?"

"Why move now?" a drunken buyer asked, "It's a free bar."

"Could I ask all the Ood to withdraw? It's feeding time."

The Ood gripped their heads in pain.

"Ooh, you've upset them!" the drunk exclaimed jokingly, "Leave them alone."

"I have to insist," Solana said, growing tense and concerned, "If all the Ood could please leave!"

~8~

The red-eyed Ood joined the unprocessed Ood in song, the volume increasing in their minds.

~8~

The Ood in reception turned red-eyed as Solana gasped, "Ladies and gentlemen, change of plan. If you could leave by the fire exits."

The drunken buyer approached one of the Ood, "I could sell this. I could offer different colors..."

The Ood just put his translator ball to the man's forehead, electrocuting him. The rest of the buyers panicked and tried to escape when the Ood attacked, Solana just narrowly managing to run outside when three guards ran over to her.

"They've gone insane, miss!" one of the guards said, "They've gone mad, _all_ of them!"

"Just shoot them!" Solana shouted as a group of Ood approached, "Shoot to kill!" she turned and ran off as the guards opened fire, stopping to watch...when an Ood came up behind her and killed her as well.

~8~

"What the hell?" Halpen cried as the alarms rang.

~8~

The canisters in the warehouse counted down when Kess heard the alarms, the red-eyed Ood growing more agitated, "What's going on out there?!" he demanded...when the exterior door opened and more Ood entered.

~8~

Halpen, Ryder, and Sigma left the office and stood in the snow, watching as the guards shot at the Ood, "Emergency status!" the speakers called, "Emergency status!"

Halpen looked on in confusion as Ryder cried, "It's a revolution!"

Halpen turned and pushed past Ryder, heading back up the stairs as Sigma followed.

~8~

The red-eyed Ood locked Kess behind the fence while the canisters continued to count down, his gasmask on _their_ side of the fence, "Come back!" he screamed, "Let me out of here!" the canisters released the gas right at Kess as he screamed, the Ood just leaving him to his fate.

~8~

Halpen stalked into the office where the trio was still handcuffed, "Change of plan."

"No reports of trouble off-world, sir," Ryder reported, checking the communications, "It's still contained to the Ood-Sphere."

"Then we've got a public duty to stop it before it spreads."

"What's happening?" the Doctor looked over.

"Everything you wanted, Doctor. No doubt there'll be a full police investigation once this place has been sterilized so I can't risk a bullet to the head. I'll leave you to the mercies of the Ood," he turned, leaving.

"But, Mr. Halpen, there's something else, isn't there? Something we haven't seen."

"What do you mean?" Donna asked.

"The creature couldn't survive with a separate forebrain and hindbrain, they'd be at war with themselves. There's got to be something else, a third element. Am I right?"

"Again, _so_ clever," Halpen said.

"It's got to be connected to the red-eye. What is it?"

Halpen turned to look the Doctor in the eye, "It won't exist for very much longer. Enjoy your Ood," he and Ryder turned to leave with the two guards, the trio watching them.

Angel frowned, looking at Sigma as he paused in the doorway...and blinked at her.

~8~

"Dr. Ryder, Warehouse 15," Halpen said as they crossed the compound.

"What about this one?" Ryder gestured to Sigma.

"No!" he shouted at Ryder, before smiling at Sigma, "You've not turned. Faithful to the last. Go. Join your people," they bowed their heads and Sigma left, "Come on!" he and Ryder headed off as Sigma watched before leaving.

~8~

The trio struggled with their restraints, trying to get out, "Well, do something!" Donna yelled, "You're the ones with all the tricks! You must've met Houdini!"

"Oh he was lovely," Angel smiled, "He tried to teach the Doctor a card trick or two. Didn't work..."

"He cheated, he was trying to make me look bad," the Doctor defended lamely, "And these are really good handcuffs!"

"Oh, I'm glad of that," Donna huffed, "At least we've got quality!"

"Um...Doctor..." Angel called, staring at the door as it opened to reveal Ood standing there, advancing.

~8~

Halpen and Ryder made their way to Warehouse 15, behind a guard trying to clear a path for them.

~8~

The Doctor, Donna, and Angel quickly tried to convince the Ood of their friendliness, shouting, their words overlapping as the Ood advanced, "Doctor, Donna, Angel, friends!" the Doctor tried, desperately trying to shift himself to stand in front of Angel, block the Ood from her, but he was handcuffed to the side.

"The circle must be broken!" Donna offered.

"The Ood will sing again," Angel ventured.

Over and over and over their words repeated and overlapped.

~8~

The unprocessed Ood looked up as the words echoed to them before they stood, their hands held above them.

~8~

The Ood lifted their translator balls to the trio...but stopped inches away from their foreheads.

~8~

The unprocessed Ood began to sing.

~8~

The translators turned off and the Ood gripped their heads. One lifted his head moments later to reveal his eyes returned to normal, "Doctor. Donna. Angel. Friends."

"That's me!" Donna beamed, "Us!"

"Yes, that's us!" Angel let out a breath, "Friends!"

"Oh, yes!" the Doctor agreed.

~8~

Halpen and Ryder continued to Warehouse 15 when an Ood attacked their guard. Ryder moved to help him but Halpen held him back, "No! Leave him! Leave him."

~8~

The trio flew down the stairs and across the complex, trying to avoid the fighting, when the Doctor paused to get his bearings, "I don't know where it is! I don't know where they've gone!"

"What are we looking for?!" Donna panted.

"This way!" Angel shouted, leading them off.

~8~

Halpen and Ryder finally reached the door, Halpen entering his code, "Warehouse 15, door open," the speakers announced.

They rushed inside.

~8~

The trio was thrown to the ground by an explosion behind them, "Alright?" the Doctor looked at Donna as he helped Angel to her feet, the man quickly checking her over to make sure she was ok, when they saw Sigma standing before them through the smoke.

~8~

"It's always been an option," Halpen explained as he strode through the warehouse, "My grandfather drew up the plans. That's the advantage of a family-run business, Dr. Ryder, the personal touch."

"But we should evacuate," Ryder argued, "If we can get to the rocket shed…"

"No need. We've got _this_ ," he opened a large cabinet, "Detonation packs," and pulled out a few devices, handing them to Ryder, "Place them around the circumference. We're gonna blow it up. This thing dies...so do the Ood," he turned and started placing the packs along the railing as Ryder stared at him, horrified.

~8~

Sigma led the Doctor, Angel, and Donna to the warehouse, the Doctor sonicing the door so they could run in, only to see an _enormous brain_ kept on the floor below within an energy field. Angel quietly panted, holding the side of her head as she felt...fuzzy...slightly dizzy...but she'd been doing much more running today than normal, that giant claw and all, and the smell...she didn't like to poke at anyone, but...the Ood smelled really bad in those containers…

"The Ood brain," the Doctor stared, " _Now_ it all makes sense. That's the missing link. The third element, binding them together. Forebrain, hindbrain, and this. The telepathic center. It's a shared mind...connecting all the Ood in song."

There was a click of a weapon behind them and they turned to see a gun held at them by Halpen, "Cargo. I can always go into cargo. I've got the rockets, I've got the sheds. Smaller business. Much more manageable without livestock."

"He's mined the area," Ryder warned them, creeping up beside the man.

"You're gonna kill it," Donna breathed.

"They found that thing centuries ago beneath the northern glacier," Halpen explained.

"Those pylons," the Doctor nodded down at them.

"In a circle," Donna saw, "'The circle must be broken.'"

"It's like a giant Mental Dampener," Angel murmured, "Blocking the telepathic field, it's been keeping the Ood from connecting to each other for 200 years."

The Doctor reached out and took her hand, knowing she could empathize with the Ood.

"And you, Ood Sigma, you brought them here," Halpen spat, "I expected better."

"My place is at your side, sir," Sigma moved to his side as he spoke.

"Still subservient," Halpen smirked, "Good Oo…" he gagged a bit, seeming to have trouble talking.

"If that barrier thing's in place, how come the Ood started breaking out?" Donna asked.

"Maybe it's taken centuries to adapt," the Doctor shrugged, "The subconscious reaching out."

"It wasn't that…" Angel frowned, looking at Ryder, "The process was too slow, wasn't it?"

He nodded, "It had to be accelerated," he glared at Halpen, "You should never have given me access to the controls, Mr. Halpen. I lowered the barrier to its minimum. Friends of the Ood, sir. It's taken me _ten years_ to infiltrate the company. And I succeeded."

"Yes," Halpen sighed, "Yes, you did."

And then he pushed Ryder over the railing.

But Angel leapt forward and grabbed his arm, Donna quickly moving to help grab his other as Angel jerked forward, nearly toppling over the edge with the man, the two women working on pulling him up as the Doctor stepped forward to protect them as they did.

Halpen eyed the Doctor, "Can't say I've ever shot anyone before...can't say I'm gonna like it, but, uh, it's not exactly a normal day, is it? Still..." he held up his gun at them.

"Would you like a drink, sir?" Sigma asked as Angel and Donna got Ryder over the edge again, the man collapsing on the ground, panting.

Halpen chuckled, "I think hair loss is the _least_ of my problems right now, thanks."

Sigma stepped in front of the Doctor, holding out a glass to his master, "Please have a drink, sir."

The Doctor put a hand on Sigma's shoulder.

"If…if you're gonna stand in their way, I'll shoot you too," Halpen glared, though his speech started to slow.

"Please have a drink, sir."

"Have…have you... _poisoned_ me?"

"Natural Ood must never kill, sir."

"What _is_ that stuff?" the Doctor frowned.

"Ood-graft suspended in a biological compound."

Halpen dropped the gun, looking rather unwell, "What the hell does _that_ mean?"

"Oh dear," the Doctor breathed.

"Tell me!"

"Funny thing, the subconscious. Takes all sorts of shapes. It came out in the red-eye as revenge. It came out in the rabid Ood as anger. And then there was patience. All that intelligence and mercy focused on Ood Sigma. How's the hair loss, Mr. Halpen?"

"What have you _done_?"

"Oh, they've been preparing you for a very long time. And now you're standing next to the Ood brain. Mr. Halpen, can you hear it? Listen."

Halpen's eyes widened as he _heard_ the Ood song, "What have you…I'm...not…"

Sigma stepped to the side, the trio watching as Halpen held his head, shouting in pain. He pulled at the skin of his scalp till it came away, revealing an Ood's head underneath. Tentacles dropped out of his mouth as he gagged.

"They…they turned him into an Ood?" Donna's eyes widened.

"Yup," the Doctor could only nod.

"He's an Ood."

"We know," Angel put an arm around Donna's shoulder.

Halpen made a gurgling noise before coughing up his secondary brain.

"He has become Ood-kind and we will take care of him," Sigma said.

"It's weird, being with you," Donna muttered, "I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore."

"It's better that way," the Doctor sighed, "People who know for certain tend to be like Mr. Halpen," there was a loud beep, "Oh!" he quickly switched off the detonator packs, "That's better. And now...Ood Sigma, will you allow me the honor?"

"It is yours, Doctor," Sigma bowed his head.

"Mr. Ryder?" the Doctor looked over.

"Yeah…" the man breathed, still partially in shock, even as Angel knelt beside him, rubbing his back, "S'fine."

"Oh yes!" the Doctor cheered, going to the equipment powering the fields, "Stifled for over 200 years but not anymore…" he paused, turning back to Angel, "Angel?" he gestured her over, "If anyone should do it…it's _you_ ," he smiled at her and stepped back.

She smiled and stood, moving over to the lever. She took a breath and put a hand on it, "The circle is broken. The Ood can sing!"

And with that, she pulled it down, the field around the brain shutting off, the song resonating everywhere.

"I can _hear_ it!" Donna cried.

The Doctor laughed, grabbing Angel and pulling her into his arms, spinning her around, dancing to the new song, the song of freedom, as Sigma held his arms up as did the Ood all over the facility and the Universe.

~8~

The Ood stood in a semicircle before the Doctor, Donna, and Angel outside the TARDIS, "The message has gone out," the Doctor said, "That song resonated across the galaxies. Everyone heard it. Everyone knows. The rockets are bringing them back. The Ood are coming home."

"We thank you, Doctor-Donna-Angel," Sigma began, "Friends of Ood-kind. And what of you now? Will you stay? There is room in the song for you."

"Oh…I've…I've sorta got a song of my own, thanks," he nodded, putting his arm around Angel, "Most beautiful song in the Universe."

Angel laughed, squeezing his middle, "Like you're mine."

"I think your song must end soon," Sigma stated, staring at the Doctor.

"Meaning?" he tensed.

"Every song must end," Sigma remarked before he turned to look at Angel, "Everything, all things, must die."

Angel blinked, shivering, a pit forming in her stomach at the familiar words.

"Yeah…" the Doctor held her closer, not sure what to make of his words, before turning to Donna, "Um, what about you? Do you still want to go home?"

"No," Donna smiled, "Definitely not."

"Then we'll be off," the Doctor decided.

"Take this song with you," Sigma called.

"We will," Donna promised.

"Always," the Doctor nodded.

"Forever and ever," Angel agreed.

"And know this, Doctor-Donna-Angel, you will never be forgotten," Sigma added, "Our children will sing of the Doctor-Donna-Angel, and our children's children, and the wind and the ice and the snow will carry your names forever."

Angel smiled softly at them before they turned and walked back to the TARDIS, fading away as they left the Ood singing their songs.

~8~

Angel smiled as she laid on her back at the edge of the pool, just staring up at the sparkling ceiling. The waters were crystal blue, the floor and walls shining white, and the ceiling made of glass with a false blue sky and white clouds drifting by. It was enormous, the pool, with a little diving board on one side and a ladder to get in on the other, and the waters were so _warm_. The TARDIS always seemed to know just what temperature to make the waters. If they'd been in the desert just then, the waters would be refreshingly cool, but they'd been in the snow so it was perfectly warm, _just_ what they needed.

"Doesn't she ever make you want to cry sometimes?" she asked absently to the only other occupant of the pool, the Doctor swimming a bit, wearing a pair of brown, pinstripe swim trunks.

"Who?" he looked over at her.

"The TARDIS," Angel sighed, "She's just so...amazing! More than 700 years I've been around TARDISes, I was born in one, practically raised in them, and they STILL amaze me."

The Doctor smiled and swam over, crossing his arms on the side of the pool, his head by hers as she stared up at the 'sky,' "She IS incredible," he nodded, though his gaze was NOT on the TARDIS.

"She's so wonderful," Angel smiled.

"Yes, she is."

"And brilliant."

"Yup."

"And beautiful."

"Sums you up exactly."

She blinked and looked over at him to see him grinning at her, clearly while SHE had been talking about the TARDIS, HE'D been talking about HER.

"You are the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on Nella," he told her, just staring at her, "You're truly as beautiful inside as out and that's a RARE combination to find in someone. Your kindness, your warmth, your hearts..." he grinned, reaching out to tug on the end of her braid as it dangled over her shoulder, "Your hair," he pulled himself over the side of the pool and kissed her, "Your kisses," he grinned, slipping back in, "I love everything about you, my angel."

She let out a soft breath as she turned on her side to face him, resting her head on her right arm, reaching out her left hand to touch is cheek, "You say things like that a lot you know."

"Like what?"

"How beautiful I am, how special, how brilliant..."

"Because you ARE. Rule 3, I _never_ lie to YOU."

"But I'm really not though."

"To me you are," he insisted lightly, pressing her hand to his cheek a moment before moving it to kiss and just holding it, "To me you are the most perfect being the Universe has ever made."

She smiled, "And you're the most fantastic," she winked.

"Brilliant!" he laughed, "You see, all I really do is say exactly what I think about you exactly when I think it...or near enough. Some things I can't exactly say outloud."

"Like what?"

He grinned and just pushed himself back, drifting away from her so he could see all of her, "Like...you're far too over-dressed for swimming!"

She looked down at herself, she was wearing a swimsuit yes, but...she hadn't revealed it to the Doctor. It was the same one that she'd glimpsed in his mind when he'd told her his true reasons for wanting to go to Space Florida. But it was hiddedn at the moment. She was wearing a rather lovely rainbow colored, tie-dyed, sleeveless dress sort of thing, a 'coverup' she believed it was called. It seemed to be mostly yellow with pinks and blues and greens swirling around in the middle and it hid the suit quite well.

She blushed a bit.

And he caught it, "Why Nella, are you getting shy all of a sudden?" he joked.

"You can't blame me," she sat up, "You haven't actually _seen_ me that...revealed you know."

It was true, the Doctor had taken to turning around whenever they changed for bed or dressed, she knew why he did it, she always felt the flash of desire for her before he turned. She'd actually tried to give him no warning when she'd start to change just because it was so funny to feel his 'want' for her and then watch him struggle to turn around and keep himself back. He really had little self-control when it came to her and she loved testing how far that could go, teasing him to see how long he'd last. He was actually surprising her quite a bit, she'd have thought he would have caved _ages_ ago with how much he longed to turn round, especially judging by how tightly he ended up gripping the back of a lone chair at his desk whenever she finished and looked back at him. He really was MUCH too tempted by the thought of her half-dressed. So, it was true, he'd never _seen_ her as revealed as the bikini would have her.

"And there is not an inch of you I wouldn't love," he reminded her, trying to remind himself in the process that her in a bikini was _not_ the same as when she changed clothes. A bikini _was_ clothing, a little, and she wasn't undressing, she was just...wearing a new outfit.

She smiled at him for that and grabbed the end of her coverup, pulling it over her head, not looking at him though as she sat there in her bikini. She wasn't...uncomfortable in it...not with JUST the Doctor being there, she _never_ felt uncomfortable when he looked at her, but...she could _feel_ it, his eyes on her. She could feel her skin heating up in a trail as though warmed by just his gaze as it roved over her.

"There you see," he let out a breath, "You take my breath away," he looked at her, murmuring to himself, "Absolutely gorgeous..."

Angel just smiled down at him, one of her legs absently dangling over the edge and into the pool, swirling around while the other was curled up beside her, her foot resting under the knee of her other leg as she watched the Doctor swim closer to her. He gently crossed his arms and rested them on her bent knee, smiling up at her, making her shiver not just from the cool water on her bare skin, but the look in his eyes…

It was almost... _hungry_...

And _not_ for _food_.

She blushed, shifting a bit, she probably should have picked a different suit. It was emerald green, a color he seemed to _love_ on her, and she had to admit she liked it with her red hair almost as much as she liked the blue of the TARDIS. _Almost_. It was a very modest bikini if she had to describe it, like a halter top that tied behind her neck and a bottom part that was like a pair of very, _very_ short shorts. If it hadn't been for it being a swimsuit, she would _never_ wear something like it she was sure.

"You're staring at me again," she whispered to him.

"Can't help it," he grinned cheekily up at her, "I could stare at you all day and never get bored."

"You?" she laughed, he could get bored in _the TARDIS_ and the ship really was the most magnificent thing in the Universe.

He just took her hands, tugging her towards the water. She shifted, putting her other leg in but not going farther, "You DO know how to swim?" he asked her, feeling a bit foolish for not having asked her that _before_ suggesting a swim.

"Yes," she nodded, "I've been, once or twice, I'm not very good though..." she eyed the water.

"Leave that to me," he moved right before her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her with him as he kicked off the wall, his arms keeping her up, "I'll never let you get hurt Nella," he swore, though he knew he hadn't done the best job of keeping it so far, but she didn't seem to mind, according to her, he was always there when she _really_ needed him, "I'll keep you safe, from enemies, from danger, from the water..."

She laughed, her hands on his shoulders, "You can put me down a bit, I _can_ manage a float at least," he nodded and gently did as she said, though he held tight to her hand as they floated there, "Don't expect any races though, we both know who'd win."

"You," he remarked.

"How?" she laughed, "I can't swim all that well Theta and I saw you swimming laps around the..."

"I'd _let_ you win," he shrugged, before grinning cheekily once more, "I'd much rather watch you ahead of me."

She blinked before her mouth dropped open in mock-offense and she whacked him on the chest, splashing him with a bit of water in the process.

"Oh is THAT how you want to play it?" his grin turned devious and he splashed her back.

She laughed and retaliated, both of them splashing and splashing and splashing, getting soaked until...

She found herself being pulled forward and kissed soundly on the lips, stealing her breath away and making her feel thankful that she was floating in the water as she was fairly certain this particular kiss would have made her knees give in. The Doctor's arm was around her back, his other hand touching her cheek, doing just as he'd promised, keeping her afloat despite his obvious distraction. It really was incredible his sense of protection, how his instinct to keep her safe was displayed even now when his mind was elsewhere.

She was breathless when they separated, he was too, quite a bit really, but she had to let out a little laugh, "I'm not sure how I feel about swimming," she remarked, staring at the top of his head.

"Why?" he frowned, a bit confused as to how she could feel that way given what they'd just done. He'd been enjoying it immensely, his Mate, in his arms, in a swimsuit, kissing him, just the two of them...much better than any beach.

She reached out and lightly ran her hand through his hair, his sopping wet hair, "The water's flattened your hair," and it was, all stuck to his head and forehead, "I LOVE your hair. It's all sticky-uppy, like a hodge podge."

"I..." he swallowed, "I think you..." his eyes drifting shut of their own accord at the feel of her playing with his hair, "Might mean...hedgehog."

She shrugged, her hand still moving through his hair, "Suppose there's still a little of the old me in me then."

He could only let out a groan at that as her hand trailed down to the back of his head, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, "You need to stop that Nella," he murmured, his head drooping forward to rest on her shoulder.

She bit back a small smirk, "And why's that?" she asked as innocently as she could as he nuzzled her neck.

She knew why. She could hear his thoughts, feel his emotions, feel his hearts racing and his body shivering and his resolve weakening. It was quite fun to see how far he could be pushed before his will broke. Usually it was as easy as asking him please or giving him a kiss or just...looking at him. But other issues took more doing.

"Because if you don't stop," he turned his head to kiss her neck, nibbling on it, making her breath catch in her throat, "We're gonna end up Mating right here in the pool," he replied, dead serious, as he literally _forced_ himself to pull back, though her hands still rested on his shoulders and his remained around her.

She smiled softly as she looked at him, "Are we ever going to Mate Theta?"

"We will," he swore, "Cross my hearts," he crossed them with his one hand, his other still around her waist, "But Nella, I just want to make sure you're fully ready and..."

"I _am_ ," she insisted lightly.

He looked at her intently, "Has your headache gone away?"

She sighed and shook her head, it wasn't quite as bad as it had been in Pompeii, but...it WAS still there, a niggling annoyance in the back of her mind, "No."

"I want to make sure you're completely perfect in health before we do that."

"But it's _just_ a headache."

"I know," he kissed her forehead lightly, "But I want it to be the _best_ experience you _ever_ have Nella," he whispered, "And I don't want any old headache getting in the way."

She smiled, "We'll just have to find some stronger medicine then, and quickly."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"You're not the only one tempted by their Mate," she poked him lightly in the chest, the poke turning into a small, light tracing of random patterns, "You look rather 'foxy' in that suit of yours and I find myself thinking that, one day soon, I might just 'jump' you..." she blinked, "That's what the humans say right?"

He stared at her a moment, his mind trying to process the fact that she'd just said she wanted to jump him, before blinking, "Yep," he said, his voice gone a bit high till he cleared it, "I mean, yes, yeah, that's the expression alright."

She laughed at that, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear before putting her arms around his neck, linking her fingers together behind him, "What do you think?" she gave him a small smirk.

He swallowed hard, feeling her thumbs lightly playing with his hair again, "I think you're right."

"About?"

"I'm not sure how I feel about swimming either."

"Oh?"

He nodded, pulling her even closer, their noses touching, "There's something _else_ I'd rather be doing right this very moment than swimming laps."

"And what's that?" she whispered, her lips brushing against his they were so close.

"This," he leaned in and kissed her deeply.

He wouldn't allow himself to Mate with her in the pool, no, he wouldn't cheapen such a moment in such a way, but...nothing said he couldn't share a rather intimate and lasting kiss with his magnificent Mate.

She wasn't the only one who enjoyed seeing how far his self-restraint went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta love a little pool action. I hope it was good :)
> 
> Have to say, Angel's empathy (more like...how she relates to others) will be a blessing at times and a curse at others. I can say there is ONE key moment where she understands what another person is going through...and it's NOT a good thing :( But I won't say who, or how, or why }:)
> 
> Just want to give a little warning (in case people had their hopes up of The Sontaran Stratagem starting) the next chapter will actually be the 'mini-sode' Music of the Spheres :) If anyone wants to watch it before reading, it should be on youtube I think :) There's another little hint of something to do with Angel in it and a reference to this episode. I know, according to the date it aired, it wouldn't fall till much later episodes, but I felt like, Music of the Spheres, Ood Songs? One might just inspire the other :) And fluff, we have some more fluff :) And...Angel in her element with a TARDIS. Let's just say she might teach the Doctor a thing or two about what that great old box can do :)


	15. Music of the Spheres

Angel smiled lightly to herself as she laid on the floor of the TARDIS, on her back, listening to the light echoing sounds playing softly above her, reminding her very much of Earth Whale songs but _so much more_ beautiful. It was the music of the Spheres she knew, the Doctor had been on a song kick lately, ever since they'd helped save the Ood, their song was just…so touching…that he'd wanted to go and meet the great composers and singers of time, taking Donna along, before deciding to try his hand at composing, but just didn't know what to make a song about.

Well, that was a lie. He had started babbling that he'd wanted to compose a symphony for _her_ , about her, the 'Angelic Hymn' he had wanted to call it, a song that encompassed everything she made him feel and everything he felt she was…but he'd gotten stuck. She'd laughed and said love was always the hardest to translate and he'd had to agree. There was just no way he could do it justice. So she'd suggested they listen to the sounds of the Universe for inspiration for a different song.

He hadn't had _a clue_ what she was talking about, which secretly pleased her, there wasn't much he didn't understand, even less that she knew that he didn't. She'd taken him to the harmonic filters of the TARDIS and put the gravity patterns of the galaxies into it to create the lovely music that was now playing softly above them, well, it _had_ to be soft, Donna was asleep, worn from so many adventures back to back.

The Doctor looked up, smiling, as he watched her listening, her eyes closed, just relaxing and enjoying the moment. He was…a bit worried, he had to admit. He'd noticed her headache was still there, how she seemed...tired, much more so than was normal. She'd been sleeping a bit longer than average and seemed a bit more weary on their adventures, the running got to her quicker than it usually did but he supposed it was a little bit his fault, he'd been so excited after meeting the Ood that he'd wanted to go see Beethoven and Mozart and Bach and so many others, they'd been dashing and running all across the Universe meeting composers from other planets too, even HE was worn from it all. Which was why he'd wanted to take that time to just have a peaceful moment, and when it was just the two of them, that was all he really felt, peaceful.

He hummed lightly to himself, getting back to his work. He was currently lying on his stomach, sheet music spread out before him as he jotted down the music he heard with a feather quill, sometimes reaching out with it to tickle Angel's cheek with it. He grinned, marking off the last note before he threw down the quill and leapt up, grabbing the papers. Angel cracked an eye open to see him hop over her in his mad dash to a music stand set up near the console, putting the papers on top of it.

She blinked though and frowned, before standing up, walking to the monitor of the controls, checking them a moment before an alarm started to go off, a small beeping noise.

"Not now!" the Doctor called back at the console, as though by just speaking the alarm would magically turn itself off which made Angel roll her eyes, "I'm busy!"

Angel laughed, shaking her head at that as it kept beeping as though to spite him, "Doctor," she called, "You may want to see this."

He turned and walked over to her side, slipping an arm around her waist as he looked at the monitor, only to see 'Alert: Teleport Breach' had come up. He frowned, "What? What!"

They looked over as a light flashed to the side, and there, standing in the middle of the TARDIS, was a tiny, red alien with three tentacle-like things sticking out of his head, a Graske.

"Oi!" the Doctor glared, taking a step forward, moving in front of Angel, "Get out of our TARDIS!"

"Sorry," Angel moved to the console, flicking a few switches, "That was my fault," she explained to the Doctor, "The defenses have to be lowered in order to start the harmonic translation feed and…"

"Must speak to the Doctor!" the Graske cut in, an urgent note to his voice.

"I don't care," the Doctor shook his head, "You're a Graske and a Graske is trouble. Out!" he pointed to the side...and not in the direction of the doors though he didn't seem to notice.

"But that noise…" the Graske looked up, as though trying to spot _where_ the melody was coming from, "Beautiful sound in the air, what is it?"

"That," Angel smiled, looking up as well, "Is the music of the Spheres."

"Music of the Spheres? Is what?"

"Well," the Doctor sighed, moving over to the Graske and sitting down beside it, his back resting on the captain's chair as Angel turned to lean against the console, facing them, watching them, her smile still there, she loved it when he explained things, "You got all those planets revolving around suns, and all those suns revolving around in a galaxy, and all those galaxies revolving around each other…and," he beamed up at Angel, a soft look in his eyes, "As my lovely, brilliant, magnificent Mate showed me, thanks for that dear," he winked at her, making her laugh, "You can take the gravity patterns and feed them through the TARDIS harmonic filter!"

"That sound in the air," Angel added, sighing softly at the music, "That's the sound of the Universe!"

"Universe sounds wonderful," the Graske replied.

"It does," Angel agreed.

The Doctor smiled for a moment, so pleased to see her so happy. She was so…easy. To please that is. It only ever took little things to make her smile, a hug, a hand-hold, a gentle moment between the two of them and she would beam in such a way that sent his hearts racing and made him actually feel…good…about himself, that he could have a hand in making her _that_ happy. And that was all he ever really wanted, her to be happy. She had once said that she thought he was fantastic, he couldn't see it given everything he'd done, but the way she looked at him, like _he_ was the most magnificent man in the Universe, well, it was hard to argue when the woman you loved looked at you that way.

He shook his head, his thoughts were getting away from him, as they so often did whenever Angel drifted across his mind…which was all the time to be honest, "But you're still not staying!" he shouted at the Graske, getting up and joining Angel at the console.

"No!" the Graske shook his little head, "Graske came to _warn_ you."

Angel frowned, "About what?" she hadn't sensed any pressing danger looming and, while she knew, as Mickey had said once, that she couldn't see everything, dangers like _that_ , dangers that seemed so big they needed a warning, tended to give her some sort of feeling.

"About that!" he pointed.

They looked over to the doors, only to see a small hole appear in the air, swirling slightly, creating a small window.

"Oh!" the Doctor eyed it, taking Angel's hand to reassure her that it was not anything dangerous and her feelings were fine, "Now…that looks like a space portal."

"Told you! Danger!"

The Doctor shook his head, walking towards it with Angel, "Nah, it's harmless."

Angel nodded slowly, recognizing it now, "They're just holes in space yeah?"

"Yeah," he agreed, leaning over to try and look at it closer, "But I wonder what's on the other side…hello?" he stepped even closer, peering through it, frowning as he could see some sort of place with hundreds, maybe thousands, of people gathered together, staring up at him.

"What's that?" Angel frowned, squinting, trying to make out where the people were, "Who are all those people?"

"Hold on…" the Doctor turned his head a little, looking this way and that through the portal, managing to make out the area, "That looks like…is that the Albert Hall?"

The people within said something, but it came out as more of a faint hum than anything, oh the mechanics of space portals, volume often got distorted.

"I said is that the Albert hall?!" he tried again, a little louder, but the people seemed confused, "I said…is that the Albert Hall!" he shouted.

They started nodding and pointing at the two Time Lords, all of them excited, almost as though they recognized the aliens.

"Oh!" he grinned, "Brilliant!"

"Hello!" Angel laughed, waving back to some of the children waving at her, "Nice to meet you!"

"We said hello!" the Doctor called when they got no reply back save a collective murmur they couldn't make out, "No, no, no, sorry, sorry, you'll have to shout. We said HELLO!"

'HELLO!' came the faint reply, so low that even they, with their Time Lord hearing, could barely hear it, but it was good enough for them, at least now they could communicate.

"Listen, my name's the Doctor, and this gorgeous woman," he put his arm around Angel, "Is my Mate, Angel," he kissed her cheek quickly when he saw it heat up in a blush, "We're Time Lords…"

"That's an awful lot of people," Angel commented, cutting into his speech slightly, before looking at him, "What are they all doing there?

He nodded, wondering the same, before he realized, "Ooh!" he looked back at them, "It's the Proms, isn't it?" he asked them, "Is that the Proms? Are you in the Proms?"

'YES!'

"Oh!" he cheered, "I LOVE the Proms. I was at the very first Proms, 1895," he told Angel, "I played the tuba."

She smiled softly at him, "I bet you were just brilliant."

"Oh I was," he beamed.

"We should have a go one day," she added.

"Oh definitely," he agreed, pleased at the idea, before he noticed another group of people getting up to peer at them from the bottom of the portal, "Is that the orchestra down there? Oh!" his eyes widened as he shouted, an idea hitting him, "Wait there!" he made a mad dash back to his papers, grabbing them off the music stand before rushing back, "'Cos…funny thing is, I've just been composing something myself. I said to Beethoven, I said 'I can rattle off a tune,' he said 'pardon?' But! I've just been inspired by the music of the Spheres. Well," he shrugged, "I was inspired by Angel here, but she'd just too brilliant to put into words…or notes really…"

"He's written his very own symphony," Angel told them, proud.

"Yeah," he smiled softly at her.

That was another thing he loved about her, she was always so _proud_ of him, of his accomplishments, even the little ones, even...even his terrible ones. He had told her about Gallifrey, his part in its end, and she'd understood, being psychic she had also once told him that she believed Gallifrey would have fallen anyway, but more from their own corruption than the Daleks. He had seen it in her mind, she was still...proud...of him for what he'd had to do, for having the strength to do it, the strength to consider the fate of all the Universe over their planet. It had been the most difficult decision he'd ever had to make in his considerably long lives, and she was proud of his strength in making it. It hurt them both that their planet was gone, but Angel had been remarkable in reminding him they still had a home in the TARDIS, a family in each other and their companions, and in reminding him that he'd saved _every single soul in the Universe_ , through _all_ of space and time, by stopping the Last Great Time War. And she was proud of him for that, for saving all that life despite what it cost him. He truly hoped he never ever did anything to disappoint her, because...he really didn't think he could bear that.

"And," he shook his head out of his thoughts, "If I can send these pages through the portal, then the orchestra can play it!"

"What do you think?" Angel asked the orchestra, not wanting to be rude and assume they would want to do it or play a song they hadn't rehearsed first, "Would you like to play it? Just think, a brand new piece of music, composed by the Doctor!"

There wasn't a definite answer they could hear but the orchestra members seemed _very_ excited about it.

"Ready for this, orchestra?" the Doctor asked, getting ready to throw the papers through, "Standby, 3, 2, 1!" he tossed them into the portal, the two of them watching as the papers rained down on the orchestra like big, flat pieces of snow, "That's it, that's it! There you go, hurry up. This portal isn't gonna stay open for long. Right, now…so, eh, if you don't mind, Mr. Conductor," he smiled, "Stand down," he pulled out the sonic, "I'm in charge of this one."

"Now you've all got to be quiet please," Angel added, gently shushing the crowd, the music needed to be heard, "Fingers on lips children," she put her own finger on her lips along with the kids who quickly did the same.

The Doctor smiled at her, she was so kind like that, he'd have just told them to shut up, but there she was, being polite, "Ladies and gentlemen," he began, lifting the sonic as though it were a baton.

"And children," Angel added again, winking at the children in the audience, seeming to make them giggle and beam at having been remembered and included so much by her.

He laughed, "And children," he agreed, "THIS is the worldwide premiere of…Ode to the Universe…" he swished the sonic around, conducting, closing his eyes as he listened to what he probably thought was a beautiful melody…but really, it was quite a ruckus of mismatched instruments playing off-key notes…quite a mess, though the Doctor didn't seem to notice and Angel just couldn't find it in her hearts to comment on it.

He cut off suddenly, ending the song and beamed, "Oh! Come on! That was _brilliant_!" he flipped the sonic and put it away, smirking as the audience gave a small, polite applause, "Thank you! I thank you, no, no, no I thank you…really, you're too kind. You see Graske," he called over his shoulder, "That's the thing about planet Earth, it…"

"Doctor," Angel tensed, not turning around to look back at the Graske, but stiffening, "I think the Graske is gone."

He spun around and looked back, the Graske really _was_ gone, "What? What!" he ran to the console, rushing around it, trying to find the little creature, "Where's he gone?"

"Sorry!" Angel called to the humans as the Doctor joined her back at the portal, "It seems we've lost a Graske," she looked at him, "Do you think he slipped through the portal?"

He nodded, looking at the humans, "Have you seen him?" before groaning, seeing something scampering through the audience, "Oh, ah…there he is! Albert Hall you've got a Graske on the loose!" he patted his jacket for a moment, realizing something, "And he's stolen my water pistol!"

Angel blinked and looked at him, "The one from Pompeii?"

"That's the one," he sighed, "I love that water pistol," he glared through the portal at the Graske squirting people, "Oi! Graske! Stop it! Behave!"

"He wasn't trying to warn us was he?" Angel figured it out, still looking at him, "He just wanted a quick way to Earth!"

He nodded, "If he escapes he'll go around the whole planet causing trouble, stealing sweets, making smells…" he grimaced.

Angel nodded and turned to the console, "Best get on that then."

He eyed her a moment, "How?"

She smiled back at him, "We just need to 'reverse the polarity of the neutron flow,'" she laughed.

He stared a moment before beaming, "Brilliant!" and ran to her side to help her, the two of them getting to work, "We can pull that Graske back into the TARDIS!" he smiled ta her, "Oh you are _so_ brilliant," he kissed her quickly, and once more, before focusing on the controls.

Angel just smiled and pulled a lever, the Graske half-thrown out of the portal, stumbling into the TARDIS.

"Not fair!" the Graske stamped his foot.

"Oh, I'll give you not fair!" the Doctor scoffed as Angel got to work, seeing the plan in his mind and knowing exactly what to do to see it through, she DID know her way around a TARDIS quite well, "We're gonna reverse back the teleport and send you all the way to the other side of the galaxy!"

She hit a button and nodded at the Doctor, who pulled out the sonic and flashed it at the Graske, making the little creature disappear in a flash of light.

"Right," he nodded, "Well," he smiled at Angel, taking her hand to kiss the back of it, "Brilliant work!"

She laughed and tugged him back to the portal, "That was fun," she told him.

"And a little bit mad," he agreed, before remembering the people watching them, "But we've got to close this portal before there's anymore trouble," he added to the humans.

"It was very nice to see you all," Angel waved at them, moving to the console again as the Doctor stepped before the portal fully.

"One more thing…" he called to them, smiling, "Just remember, music isn't just orchestras and pop stars and best people with albums and downloads and concerts…it's YOU," he nodded, "'Cos the music of the Spheres is all around you. When you're on your own, just close your eyes and you'll hear it. Music. Inside your head. 'Cos everyone's a musician," he looked back at Angel, at the console, ready to close the portal, and had to smile, "Everyone's got a song inside of them," or a song in general, she was his song, the melody of his hearts and of his life in every way, like he knew he was hers, "Every single one of you," he nodded, before turning to wave at them, "Bye!"

Angel twisted a knob slowly and the portal shrunk and shrunk and shrunk till it disappeared.

The Doctor beamed and walked over to her, unable to stop himself from kissing her, she really was his everything.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short-ish, I know, but I did warn that the minisode/prequel chapters wouldn't follow the 'minimum 4,000 words' rule :) This will probably be the shortest chapter of this story so you can take relief in that :) But how sweet was this? I really wanted this to follow the Ood because...we get the Sontarans next, and then...The Poison Sky...dum dum duh! :)
> 
> On a slightly funny note...I when I posted this on FF, I was still in college (one of them anyway, I have 4 degrees) and I was in class and one group was presenting about something and mentioned something about Honey Bees, how they're apparently mysteriously disappearing. I started cracking up in the back of the class and everyone was staring at me and I just go 'The BEES are disappearing!' And the funniest thing was...my professor goes 'Keep an eye out for the Tandocca Trail!' No one else in class had a CLUE what we were talking about lol. That was MORE than enough to make up for the fact he kept us an extra half hour because the presentations ran long lol :)


	16. The Sontaran Stratagem: ATMOS

"Oi!" the Doctor glared up at the rotor as the console shocked him, "I said for _a minute_!" he moved to whack the controls with a mallet when he found it plucked out of his hand. He spun around to see Angel dashing to the doors, throwing the mallet into space, before closing them and brushing off her hands, heading back with a smirk, "I loved that mallet," he pouted.

She laughed, "It was either that or threaten not to kiss you again if you hit her with it. Which do you love more?"

He blinked, "Right, sayonara mallet!" he cheered, moving to rest his hand on the console again...only for it to spark _again_ and force him to withdraw his hand, "Oi!" he shouted at the rotor, "I wasn't going to let her fly you _far_!"

Angel shook her head, the Doctor had all but _told_ the TARDIS he was going to let Donna try her hand at flying the old box. The ginger had nagged him and nagged him and nagged him till he'd finally broken down and agreed. Well, that and claiming SHE thought Donna was ready to try to fly the box a little bit. And she was, she really thought Donna could do it, but the Doctor wasn't exactly convincing or reassuring the TARDIS of that at the moment. He'd basically just said it was Donna's turn and then the box had thrown a little bit of a tantrum...probably because he'd also rambled about how they had to hope Donna wouldn't crash the box into Ancient Greece or push the wrong button and kill them all or blast them out of the Vortex and other things...which had not only made the box nervous but Donna as well.

The Doctor moved to pull a lever to get them into the Vortex to start when even _that_ shocked him too, "Stop it!" he whined.

Angel smiled and walked over, taking his hand as he tried to put it on the lever again, "Let me," she offered, turning to the rotor, "Oh you didn't like that did you old girl?" she asked calmly, reaching out to stroke the rotor comfortingly, "Having the mean old Doctor ordering you around..."

The Doctor pouted, but Angel just gave him a quick peck to appease him, before trying to turn back to what she was doing...only for him to pull her back to him, kissing her soundly. Really, did she think just _one little peck_ would do? Never. He grinned as he pulled away, stroking her cheek, "Go on," he whispered, nudging her towards the console, "Be amazing."

She laughed and gave him one more peck, dashing away before he could pull her back in, and over to the console, "I promise I'll keep an eye on Donna, make sure everything's fine," she told the box, "I trust her," she winked at Donna before turning back to the rotor, "Taught her myself and you trust _me_ at least to teach her the proper way to fly you don't you girl?" the box hummed, making the Doctor smile at how she was getting through to the irate machine, before pouting as he realized his piloting skills were being questioned...as always, "I can feel it, she'll do a fantastic job. So, will you let her try? Please, for me?"

The box was silent a moment before there was a little hum.

"Brilliant, thanks!" Angel beamed, turning to take Donna's hand and position her before the monitor, ready to start the latest lesson/test drive.

"What if I explode the Universe?" Donna hissed to her quietly, tense, nervous now. She'd been so excited before but now...so many things really could go wrong.

"You won't," Angel promised her, pulling the lever to send them into the Vortex.

"But what if I do?"

"You won't."

"But what if I DO?"

Angel had to laugh, she'd had this same discussion when she'd encouraged Donna to try and change the thermo-couplings by herself last week after she'd shown her how. She put her hands on Donna's shoulders, "You _won't_ Donna, you'll have me AND the Doctor looking out for you, you'll be JUST fine," she squeezed the woman's shoulders, "Trust me, you _can_ do this. We're only going in a straight line, just like I showed you."

Donna took a breath and nodded, turning to the controls...

~8~

A group of red sweat suit clad students 'escorted' an older woman down the steps of their school as she struggled in their grasp. A boy in a t-shirt and jeans followed them, clearly the one in charge given his smirk and lack of a sweat suit, "You're gonna regret this!" the woman called, "This is completely ridiculous! Get your hands off me!"

The two young people holding her shoved her to the ground and threw a handful of papers after her.

"I think that makes my answer clear, don't you?" the young man smirked wider, "Oh, and, uh, if you're gonna go to print, spell my name right: Rattigan with _two_ Ts."

"Oh, this goes _way_ beyond the newspapers," she glared, getting up, gathering her papers in the process, "This thing's worldwide! I'm telling you, ATMOS is _dangerous_!"

"But if you had proof, then you wouldn't be here," he held his arms out wide, gesturing at the building, the school, behind him.

"Fine. If you won't listen, I'll find someone else who will," she turned and strode into her car which had an ATMOS sticker on the windshield.

"Welcome," the ATMOS system greeted as soon as the car was started, "What is your destination?"

"You're the _last_ thing I need," she muttered, trying to turn it off.

"ATMOS cannot be disabled."

"Right then. Take me to UNIT Headquarters, Tower Bridge, London."

"UNIT Headquarters."

~8~

The young man stood, alone, in his large room, speaking aloud to no one in particular...or so it seemed, "Her name's Jo Nakashima, freelance journalist. Clever by the sound of it, not as clever as me, but that goes without saying," he looked at a small camera, "I'd recommend termination."

"Remember your status, boy," a male voice called back to him, the tone harsh, "We do not take orders from _humans_."

"I said, 'recommend.'"

"Then your advice shows military wisdom. She will be terminated."

"Cool," he smirked, hitting a tennis ball across the room, completely unaffected by the fact he'd just organized for the death of another.

~8~

"This is UNIT, extension 221," an automated woman's voice replied over the mobile, "Please..."

"Don't put me through to answer-phone," Jo Nakashima said when the phone beeped anyway, she sighed, "Yes, this is a message for Colonel Mace from Jo, Jo Nakashima. Look, you should have got my e-mail. I've been investigating a number of deaths related to ATMOS systems..."

"Go straight on," ATMOS ordered.

"I can't prove anything but there's _got_ to be a link. I need you to check out all the people who died in ATMOS cars yesterday and then check out the time."

"Turn right."

She turned right and crossed a bridge to find herself facing the river, "I don't believe this," she huffed.

"This is your final destination."

"I said to take me to _UNIT_ ," she hit a button.

"Go straight on."

"I don't think so. I'll find my own way, thanks," she reached for the gearshift but it moved on its own, the engine revving. She grabbed the gear shift and tried to move it but it wouldn't budge.

"This is your final destination," ATMOS locked the doors, "This is your final destination."

"No, no! Help!"

"This is your final destination..."

She turned and pounded on the window, "No!"

The car accelerated forward towards the river.

"No! Noooo!"

"This is your final destination," the car drove straight into the water, sinking, with the woman still screaming inside.

~8~

Donna stood before the console controls while the Doctor looked on, more than a bit wary, Angel sat on the captain's chair, calm, watching, having faith that Donna could do this, "I can't believe I'm doing this!" Donna exclaimed, now more in excitement than nerves.

"No, neither can I," the Doctor remarked.

" _I_ can," Angel cheered.

She'd been slowly teaching Donna the different controls over the last few months, moving far beyond the temperature controls and radio. The woman now knew enough to at least fly the TARDIS in a semi-straight line through the Vortex. Mickey, Rose, and Martha had all picked that up relatively quickly, but Donna was taking just a bit longer. That was fine with her though, it meant she got to spend more time teaching her sister how to fly the best box in the Universe. She secretly thought the TARDIS loved that, her teaching the humans how to fly her.

"I still don't understand why you bother to teach them," the Doctor remarked to her, he LOVED running around the console with her, making the ride complicated for the humans. He sort of felt that teaching them how the box worked took the wonder out of it, as though just being in a room that was bigger on the inside wasn't wonderful enough.

She shrugged, "One day, if we have a reunion with Martha and Jack, we can get Donna to help us pilot. We'll have nearly enough to fly her properly," she smiled at the rotor and got up, walking to it, "You'd like that wouldn't you girl? One trip, every so often, flown just the way you're meant to be flown?"

The TARDIS seemed to hum in agreement, which made Donna laugh and look at the Doctor, "Even your box doesn't like the way you fly it."

"Whoa, careful," the Doctor lunged forward, seeing them veering with Donna's eye off the monitor...and to change the topic...but mostly because of the veering, really, "Left hand down!" he shouted, "Left hand down!" the ship jolted, sending Angel falling onto the console, "Getting a bit too close to the 1980s."

"What am I gonna do, put a dent in 'em?" Donna asked sarcastically.

"Too late," Angel smiled, "The Doctor already did."

Just as he opened his mouth to try to defend himself, again, a phone rang.

"Hold on, that's a phone!" Donna shouted as the Doctor and Angel looked at the mobile sitting in a holder on the console, "You've got a _mobile_? Since when?"

"It's not ours…" the Doctor murmured, reaching out for it, when Angel beat him to it.

"Martha!?" she called, half-excited, half-worried.

"Angel!" Martha greeted happily, "It's me...and I'm bringing you both back to Earth!"

~8~

The TARDIS faded into existence between two buildings at the end of an alley, behind Martha as she stood there, dressed in black, looking at a warehouse across the way. When the wheezing of the TARDIS reached her she turned around. The door opened and the Doctor and Angel stepped out, standing there and looking at her, "Martha Jones," the Doctor greeted.

"Doctor," Martha smiled, walking over to them as they did the same, "Angel."

Martha held out her arms and the Doctor pulled her into a great big hug, pulling her off the ground, "Ah, yeah!" he released her, "You haven't changed a bit!"

"Neither have you!" Martha laughed.

"Martha!" Angel smiled, hugging her best friend tightly, moving her side to side a bit from the force of her bear hug, "How's everyone?" she asked softly, pulling away, resting her hands on Martha's shoulders, truly concerned.

"You know. Not so bad. Recovering," Donna stepped out of the TARDIS behind the duo, Martha spotting her.

"What about you?" the Doctor asked.

"Right," Martha shook her head with a smile, expecting it, "I should have known. Didn't take you long to replace me."

"No one could _ever_ do that," Angel told her lightly, "My very _best_ friend," she told Martha, hugging her again, "I don't think anyone will _ever_ take that title."

Martha smiled, closing her eyes, a little relieved to hear that, as she hugged Angel once more. She knew the Time Lords were near immortal, she knew they had so many adventures, met so many people, that she must be such a small part of their lives, she wouldn't blame them for forgetting her...but Angel always seemed to know _just_ what to say, and said it so genuinely, that she couldn't help but feel reassured. Angel didn't really ever lie so if she said it, she honestly believed it. And it was nice to know that, while she'd been the Doctor's companion, one of many, many, _many_ , she was Angel's best (human) friend, and that was a title, to her, that was so much more rare.

"Now, don't start a fight," the Doctor pleaded, though it was more joking now that he saw Angel had reassured his former companion, "Martha, Donna. Donna, Martha. Please don't fight. I can't bear fighting."

"You wish," Donna remarked, turning to Martha, "I've heard _all_ about you," she held out a hand to shake Martha's, "They talk about you _all_ the time."

"I dread to think," she said.

"Only the absolute _best_ ," Angel reassured her, still standing beside her, with her arm around Martha's shoulders, "Don't worry."

Donna's eyes widened as Martha brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, "Who's the lucky man?"

"What man?" the Doctor asked, "Lucky what?"

"Oh Martha, congratulations!" Angel hugged her again, having spotted what Donna had.

Martha laughed, she loved how much of a hugger Angel was.

"She's engaged, you prawn," Donna told the Doctor as Martha held up her left hand, revealing her ring.

"Really?" the Doctor eyed her, "Who to?"

"Tom," she beamed, "That Tom Milligan. He's in pediatrics working out in Africa right now. And yes, I know, I've got a doctor who disappears off to distant places, tell me about it."

"Is he skinny?" Donna asked, sounding rather serious.

"No, he's sort of... _strong_."

" _He_ is too skinny for words," she pointed at the Doctor, "You give him a hug, you get a paper cut!" which made Martha laugh.

"I'd rather you were fighting," the Doctor remarked.

"Oh hush," Angel walked away from Martha, around to his side, putting an arm around his waist, "You're the perfect size for _me_."

He beamed at her, squeezing her as he moved his own arm around her too, "And you're just perfect."

"Dr. Jones, report to base, please," a woman called over a radio.

"Speaking of which..." Martha lifted a radio, "This is Dr. Jones. Operation Blue Sky is go, go, go," she nodded her head for them to follow her off down the alley, "I repeat, this is a go."

The Doctor, Angel, and Donna followed, watching as soldiers, jeeps, and a large lorry drove down the road towards the warehouse before them.

"Unified Intelligence Taskforce, raise that barrier now!" a soldier shouted as the soldiers and vehicles entered the factory, "Leave your safeties on, lads, it's non-hostiles!"

"All workers lay down your tools and surrender!" a second soldier shouted through a megaphone.

"Greyhound Six to Trap One," Martha ordered, "B Section, go, go, go! Search the ground floor, grid pattern Delta."

"What are you searching for?" the Doctor looked at her.

"Illegal aliens."

"This is a UNIT operation!" came a call over the megaphone, "All workers lay down your tools and surrender immediately!" the UNIT soldiers ushered the workers onto their knees, moving their hands over their heads.

"B Section mobilized!" Martha called, heading over to help, "E Section, F Section, on my command!"

"Is that what you did to her, turned her into a soldier?" Donna turned to them as they watched Martha, a bit stunned.

Angel frowned and looked back over her shoulder at the alley, at the TARDIS, before glancing up to the sky, she couldn't help but feel like...they were being watched.

~8~

On a monitor a lone figure in thick armor watched Angel turned back to the factory, "As predicted, the UNIT forces have moved to the penultimate stage. Observe their troops, thin fabrics, exposed skin, feeble weapons. These are toy soldiers, the playthings of children!"

~8~

Martha came back to the trio when Angel noticed her name badge, "Oh my God, Martha you're a doctor now! A real proper doctor!"

"UNIT rushed it through, given my experience in the field," Martha nodded, grinning.

"That's wonderful," she beamed at her.

Martha blushed a bit, "Thanks," before recalling why she'd come back, the orders to bring them in, "Here we go," she brought them over to the factory, to a lorry stationed just outside it, "We're establishing a field base on site. They're dying to meet you."

"Wish I could say the same," the Doctor muttered, holding Angel closer as they entered the lorry from the rear, not at all comfortable with soldiers running around with guns with her there. He looked down a moment later though when Angel shivered, "You alright?"

"Just a chill," she said, for once it NOT being accompanied with a feeling like someone had just died, "I'm a bit cold is all. I'm fine," but she crossed her arms and hugged herself despite her sweater. The Doctor rubbed her arm absently, trying to warm her as well, it WAS just a little nippy out.

They looked around to see the vehicle was set up with computers and monitors and communications, all top of the line. Martha strode up to an older man, the leader of the expedition, "Operation Blue Sky complete, sir. Thanks for letting me take the lead."

"You returned from your previous mission with the highest of recommendations from Torchwood," the man replied, "You earned it."

Martha grinned a little at that, thinking of her last mission, on loan from UNIT, helping out Jack and his team, before she turned to the aliens behind her, "And this...this is the Doctor and the Angel..."

"My Mate," the Doctor cut in.

Angel rolled her eyes at him and playfully smacked his stomach as he beamed at her, she really had NO idea _how much_ he _loved_ saying that, his Mate, she was HIS Mate. He wanted to shout it from every corner of the Universe. He shivered just _thinking_ of it, he'd never thought he'd have a _Mate_ , not when he'd been 'married' on Gallifrey, but there she was, the light of the Universe, and she was all _his_.

Martha laughed at the familiarity of that, "Doctor, Angel, this is Colonel Mace."

"Sir," Mace gave them a salute, "Ma'am."

"Oh, don't salute," the Doctor sighed at the same time Angel said, "Nice to meet you."

"But it's an _honor_ , sir. I've read all the files on you and your Mate," Mace continued, catching the little smile that lit up the Doctor's face when he called Angel the man's Mate as well, judging from the files Martha had helped update, that was the best way to get on the man's good side. It was quite funny really, they had typed notes on the man and his Mate, and then scribbled on the side in the margins was anything Martha wanted to add, like 'Doctor hates pears' or 'Angel loves period clothes' and the like, "Technically speaking, you're still on staff. You never resigned."

"What, you used to work for them?" Donna looked at him.

"Yeah," he rubbed his ear, embarrassed he'd forgotten that little detail, "A long time ago, back in the 70s, or was it the 80s? It was all a bit more homespun back then."

"Times have changed, sir," Mace nodded.

"That's enough of the 'sir,' though..." he considered it a moment, "You'd best call Angel 'ma'am,' I'll not have you disrespecting her and..."

"Angel is just FINE," Angel cut in, patting the Doctor's arm as she reassured Mace, "It's my _name_ after all."

"Come on though," Martha cut in, "You've seen it. You've been on board the _Valiant_. We've got massive funding from the United Nations, all in the name of Homeworld Security."

"A modern UNIT for the modern world," Mace smiled.

"What, and that means arresting ordinary workers?" Donna glared, "In the streets? In broad daylight? It's more like Guantanamo Bay out there. Donna, by the way. Donna Noble, since you _didn't_ ask. I'll have a salute."

Mace turned to the Doctor and Angel who nodded, Angel smiling as she nodded more eagerly, "Ma'am," he gave her a salute as well.

"Thank you," Donna smiled.

"Tell me, what's going on in that factory?" the Doctor turned to Mace.

"Yesterday, 52 people died in identical circumstances right across the world, in 11 different time zones," Mace turned, bringing up a world map with red dots and times, "5am in the UK, 6am in France, 8am in Moscow, 1pm in China…"

"They died simultaneously?" Angel asked, she'd always had a little affinity with time, she could see that it was the same moment all across the globe.

"Exactly. 52 deaths at the _exact same moment_ worldwide."

"What happened to them? How'd they die?" she frowned and the Doctor squeezed her closer, knowing how much she didn't like deaths.

"They were all inside their cars."

"They were poisoned," Martha told them, "I checked the biopsies. No toxins. Whatever it is, left the system immediately."

"What have the cars got in common?" the Doctor asked.

"Completely different makes but all fitted with ATMOS. And that is the ATMOS factory."

"What's ATMOS?"

"Oh come on, even _I_ know that," Donna rolled her eyes, "Everyone's got ATMOS."

~8~

Martha led the Doctor, Angel, and Donna down the catwalk stationed over the factory floor, explaining what they knew, "Stands for 'Atmospheric Emission System.' The ATMOS in your car reduces CO2 emissions to zero."

"Zero?" the Doctor gaped, "No carbon? None at _all_?"

"And you get sat-nav thrown in, plus 20 quid in shopping vouchers if you introduce a friend," Donna nodded, "Bargain."

"And this is where they make it," Mace joined them, "Shipping worldwide. Seventeen factories across the globe but this is the central depot, sending ATMOS to every country on Earth."

"So...you think ATMOS is alien?" Angel guessed, glancing down at the floor below.

"It's our job to investigate that possibility. Shall we?" he walked off, the Doctor following.

Angel paused a moment, looking down at the soldiers gathering the workers, frowning as she eyed them before shaking her head and walking off.

Donna however, glanced between Angel and the workers, if Angel really _was_ a psychic like they'd told her, then there was something _more_ than met the eye with the workers. It really _was_ like Angel said, sometimes she would look at something for too long or touch something and not even realize she had, but SHE noticed and kept it in mind for later, she really did see what Angel missed, just like the woman had said in Pompeii...oh that psychic, she was _good_.

"Come on, everybody, up the pace," a soldier called to the workers, "We haven't got all day now."

~8~

Mace led the group into a small office where the ATMOS devices were set up, "And here it is, laid bare. ATMOS can be threaded through any and every make of car."

"You've must've checked it before it went on sale," the Doctor muttered.

"We _did_ ," Martha explained, "We found nothing. That's why I thought we needed an expert."

"Really?" the Doctor asked as he put on his specs to examine some equipment, "Who did you get?" he turned at the quiet that followed, seeing them giving him a look, "Oh, right! Me! Yes! Good!"

Martha shook her head at him before she and Mace left the room to check how things were going in the factory.

"Ok, so why would aliens be so keen on cleaning up our atmosphere?" Donna wondered as she and Angel looked at the tech, Angel absently running her finger along the clear top of the ATMOS that fit on the engine, along the grid-like pattern and small holes in the crossed lines.

"Very good question."

"Maybe they want to help, get rid of pollution and stuff."

"Do you know how many cars there are on planet Earth? 800 million."

"848,958,137," Angel murmured, glancing at them as they stared at her, "At a guess."

He nodded, smiling at her, he'd take that guess, "Imagine that. If you could control them, you'd have 848,9..." he trailed off, "800 million weapons."

~8~

Two UNIT soldiers walked around the lower levels, checking the dark corridors, one holding a map and reading it by torchlight, "We should head back. There's not much down here. Should be just boiler rooms, generators..."

The other man stepped into the next corridor when the lights flickered on. At the end of the hall there was a doorway with two factory workers standing guard, "Aye, aye...what's this then?" the man asked as the map holder joined him, the two of them walking down the hall, "You two, all personnel have been ordered to evacuate. Building's under UNIT control."

"This area is out of bounds," one of the workers said, monotoned.

"Excuse me, sunshine. I think you'll find we're in charge," the men just stared straight ahead, expressionless, "We can do this the easy way...or the hard way."

~8~

"General Staal, they are close," a deep voice said as they watched the proceedings of the hall on a monitor.

"Excellent!" Staal replied, his voice sounding remarkably like the other one that had spoken, "And like a good warrior, I shall enter the fray myself. Let them pass."

~8~

The two workers stepped aside, one opening the door, "It's open."

"Come on," the soldier muttered to his friend. They stepped in to see the room was dark with an eerie, green light coming from the opposite side. He switched on a light to see a large covered container in the middle of the room, "What the hell?"

"Greyhound Sixteen to Trap One," the first man with the map called into the radio, "We found something. Basement corridor, north side, grid 36. Request backup, sir."

They both approached the container that had steam rising from it, "Looks like something's boiling inside," he moved to open it.

"Don't touch it!"

"C'mon, Steve. We get first rights on this. That means promotion."

"Just leave it alone. Wait for backup," Steve tensed as there was a loud clanking sound, "What the hell was _that_?"

"Came from inside," he remarked, looking at the container.

"Could be just the machinery," Steve suggested.

There were two more clanks.

"Is there someone in there? Hello?" he banged on the lid, "We gotta get this open."

"We should wait for the others," Steve shifted.

"You could suffocate in there!"

"Greyhound Sixteen to Trap One. Request immediate assistance," Steve called into the radio, "Repeat: _immediate_ assistance. Over."

"How do you work this thing?" the man mumbled, trying to open it, "Come on," the lid rose straight up as a green slimy substance bubbled away underneath. They leaned in for a better look, coughing at the stench.

"Oh!" Steve held his nose, "God, it _stinks_!"

"What the hell _is_ that stuff?"

Just then a human-like creature rose up from the slime, reaching for them. It was human in shape but not fully formed, with a cord extending from the back of its neck. Steve quickly aimed his rifle, "Identify yourself! Identify!" before he called into the radio again, "Greyhound Sixteen to Trap One declaring absolute emergency, sir! Repeat: absolute _emergency_! Over."

His partner pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the creature, watching it though, fascinated, "Can you hear me? Can you understand me?" he looked at Steve, "Look at its neck," he gestured to the cord, "It looks like an umbilical cord."

"Well, don't get too close."

"I think it's harmless," he said as the creature laid back down in the goop, "I don't even think it's properly alive."

"It's gonna drown!"

"No, I think it breathes this stuff, like some kind of embryo."

"What do you mean, an embryo?"

"Someone's growing a body. A human body."

"Excellent skills of deduction," Staal's voice said. They spun around to see a short creature completely covered in armor with a domed helmet, "I would rate you above average, soldier. Well done," he turned to Steve, "Whereas you, you smell of sweat and fear."

"Yeah?" the man lowered his gun, eyeing the short thing in front of him, "Well, we're not the ones that got out of school early, sonny. So stop playing Humpty Dumpty and tell us who you are."

"Is that a reference to my height?" the creature asked, offended.

"Short answer: yes."

"A pity. Words are the weapons of womenfolk. I must judge you unfit."

"Oh? What are you going to do, bite our ankles?"

The creature fired a bolt of energy from his staff at the man's legs, making him fall to the floor in pain.

"I'm warning you!" Steve aimed his gun, rushing to stand in front of his fallen friend.

"A proper soldier gives no warning," the creature replied, "Fire! I order you. Fire!" Steve did but the rifle only clicked, "The room is contained within a Cordalaine signal exciting the copper surface of the bullet and causing expansion within the barrel, rendering your guns useless. And your radio signals have been blocked."

Desperate, Steve raised the rifle to strike a blow but the creature fired at his legs as well making him fall to the floor as well, "My legs! I can't feel my legs!"

The two workers who had been guarding the room entered.

"I apologize for disabling you," the creature remarked, "Death has more honor but you are needed for the stratagem," he turned to the workers, "Prepare them for processing," he looked at the man beside Steve, "You spoke of promotion, now you shall serve a greater cause."

"Who are you?" the man groaned.

"Indeed, know your enemy. I am General Staal of the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet, known as Staal-the-Undefeated," he removed his helmet.

Steve's eyes widened in panic at the alien within, shouting into the radio, "Help us! Oh, my God, help us!"

But no help came...though a Time Lady in another part of the factory gave a little shiver...

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, I'm really excited for these two episodes, just because we have the Sontarans and how war obsessed they are, and Angel, the little peace-maker :) That's an interesting combination isn't it? I wonder if that might be brought up at some point...hmm... ;)
> 
> Just to hint at something, the scene with Donna at the beginning well, I've hinted that Angel would rub off on Donna a little, we're gonna see something from that scene pop up with Angel but in reverse later :)


	17. The Sontaran Stratagem: The Genius Academy

The Doctor examined the ATMOS device while Angel sat, rubbing her head, on a small counter, trying to make heads or tails of a few files Martha had left with them about the deaths, it was difficult to focus though, her headache had just gotten worse and it was making it hard to look at the words for too long. Whenever she looked down she got a throb in her head so she had to hold the files up but even then, the light of the room was bothering her a bit, hurting her eyes. So she'd figured it was a reaction to the clear alien threat they were dealing with, the thought that so many humans were at risk because so many had cars was alarming to her and she was really worried about them. Not only all the humans on Earth, but also those closer to her hearts, like Donna's family, and Martha's family, and Jack and his team...

"Ionizing nano-membrane carbon dioxide converter, which means that ATMOS works," the Doctor remarked to Martha and Mace as they stood with the Time Lords, Donna having wandered off when the Doctor first started techno-babbling earlier, "Filters the CO2 at a molecular level."

"We know about that," Mace stepped beside him, nodding, trying to get to the point they REALLY wanted to know about, "What's its origin? Is it alien?"

"No, but it's _decades_ ahead of its time," he glanced at the man, his eyes drifting down a moment to his hip, then to Angel, then back to the man, "Look, do you mind? Could you stand back a bit?"

"Sorry, have I done something wrong?" Mace stepped back.

"You're carrying a gun," the Doctor said, as though it were obvious, before pausing, blinking as he actually _thought_ about the words he'd just said, "Actually…could you leave the room."

"Why?"

"You've got a _gun_ ," he straightened up, crossing his arms as he nodded to Angel, "My _Mate_ is in the room. I don't like people with guns with my Mate in the same room, alright?" that last part got a bit snippy as his mind seemed to catch up to his words, actually realizing his Mate really WAS in a room with another person who had a gun...not a good combination given what happened the last time he hadn't noticed a human had a gun on a Time Lord, the Master had been shot.

He was NOT about to risk the same happening with Angel.

"If you insist," Mace tensed, walking away, a bitter note to his voice.

"Tetchy," Martha told him as she leaned on a table beside Angel, her elbows resting on it, reading the files in Angel's hands over the girl's arm.

"Well, it's true," the Doctor stated.

"He's a _good_ man."

"People with guns are usually the enemy in my books," the Doctor countered, before considering something as he eyed her, " _You_ seem quite at home."

"Doctor," Angel shook her head at his implication.

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, in the VERY back, he was considering Martha's threat to them, to HER. Martha had been taken in by UNIT, trained, might even know how to handle a gun now and, somwhere in him, he was concerned she might try to hurt her. As though that would _ever_ happen, Martha had always been there for her, protected her, she wouldn't ever hurt them and she needed to remind him of that.

He winced, getting all that from just her one word, her tone, her little shake of the head, no, he knew that was taking it a bit far, Martha was nothing like the other humans who had guns. He pulled the sonic out to examine the device, wanting a distraction from what he'd accidently implied.

"If anyone got me used to fighting, it's _you_ ," Martha, it seemed, was not about to let that little flub on his part go though, she was quite offended really by his thought, even for a moment, that she might hurt them. She knew it was the Mating instinct to protect Angel from everything that had made him say it, that had allowed his mind to briefly lose itself, but that was still NOT right of him to say or even think.

"Oh right, so it's _my_ fault," he countered, not seeming about to apologize. Really, it was a valid concern, time and circumstances could change all people, even his companions though he hated to admit it. How was he truly to know, 100 percent, that the Martha before him was the same one that had travelled with them?

"Well, _you_ got me the _job_!" Martha shouted.

"Doctor," Angel called softly, her head tilted to the side as she rested it on her hand, trying to support her head which felt like lead, pounding a bit more with all the shouting going on, "Just look at her," she nodded at Martha, "Do you see a gun?"

The Doctor glanced at Martha smiled at that little detail being missing, "Suppose not."

Martha nodded, pleased he'd noticed, "It's alright for you two. You can just come and go, but some of us have got to stay behind. So I've got to work from the inside and by staying inside, maybe I stand a chance of making them better."

"Yeah?" he smiled wider, his smidge of concern put to rest by her words, he never should have doubted her, "That's more like Martha Jones."

"I learnt from the best," Martha grinned.

"Well..." the Doctor shrugged.

"Thanks Angel," Martha turned to hug the girl.

"Hey!" the Doctor cried, mock-indignant, as the girls laughed. But he had to smile at that, pleased Angel had had an impact on the girl as well, almost as much as she had on him. He moved beside her, leaning on the desk on her other side, leaning over to kiss her hair.

"Oi, you lot!" Donna held up a binder as she stepped in, "All your storm troopers and your sonics, rubbish! Shoulda come with _me_."

"Where have you been?" the Doctor asked as Mace stepped into the room as well, having heard the ginger woman shouting.

"Personnel. _That's_ where the weird stuff's happening, in the paperwork. 'Cos I spent _years_ working as a temp, I can find my way around an office blindfolded, and the first thing I noticed...is an empty file."

"Why, what's inside it? Or what's not inside it?"

"Sick days," Donna turned the open file around, blank pages stared back at them, "There _aren't_ any. Hundreds of people working here, and no one's sick? Not one hangover, man flu, sneaky little shopping trip. Nothing. Not ever. They don't get ill."

"That can't be right," Mace frowned, taking the folder.

"You've been checking out the buildings, should've been checking out the workforce," Donna nodded, casting a small smile at Angel for sparking the idea to take a closer look at them.

"I can see why they like you," Martha smiled at her, "You are _good_."

"She's Supertemp," Angel got off the table and hugged Donna from the side, making Donna beam at the praise.

"Well you're Supergirl," Donna countered.

"We make quite the team then."

"Mother would be proud," Donna joked.

Martha had to smile at that, she knew that Angel had seen Rose, her predecessor as a younger sister and it seemed she'd found an older sister as well. She was happy for her, you could never have enough of the most important thing in the Universe, family. She was also glad that Donna was her _sister_ , as Angel had said, HER title was best friend and, to her, that meant someone Angel chose not someone who was born into the role...not that Donna was really Angel's sister but, family usually wasn't something you could pick, friends were and Angel picked HER.

"Dr. Jones, set up a medical post, start examining the workers," Mace began, pulling Martha out of her thoughts, "I'll get them sent through."

"Come on, Donna, give me a hand?" Martha asked as the Doctor took Angel's hand and walked out with Mace.

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and Mace walked along an open corridor, past the work area in the factory, "Where exactly did this ATMOS thing come from?" Angel asked as the Doctor had implied it was made on Earth, "Who made it?"

"Luke Rattigan himself," Mace sighed.

"And himself would be?" the Doctor frowned.

~8~

Mace pulled up Luke's profile on the computer of the UNIT base, "Child genius. Invented the Fountain 6 search engine when he was 12 years old. Millionaire overnight. Now runs the Rattigan Academy. A private school educating students handpicked from all over the world."

"A hothouse for geniuses, wouldn't mind going there," the Doctor smiled as Mace glanced at him, puzzled, "I get lonely."

"Et hem?" Angel raised an eyebrow at him.

It was all in jest of course, she had claimed herself to not be a genius far too many times to be offended by not being called one by someone else. She knew she wasn't very clever, but she knew that the Doctor didn't mind that, that he loved her regardless and that meant the world to her. But still, she WAS trying to do better, to learn more, a trip to a genius academy would be fun.

The Doctor just took her hand, "You're a different kind of genius," he assured her, kissing the back of her hand.

~8~

"Do you think I should call my mum?" Donna wondered, "About the ATMOS in her car?"

"Better safe than sorry," Martha nodded.

"I'll give her a call," Donna decided, turning to leave and do just that.

"Donna…" Martha called, stopping her, "Do they know where you are? Your family, I mean, that you're travelling with the Doctor and Angel?"

"Not really. Although...my granddad sorta waved us off. I didn't have time to explain."

"You just...left him behind?"

"Yeah," Donna breathed as though JUST realizing she really had just...left them.

"I didn't tell my family. Kept it all so secret and...it almost destroyed them."

"The Doctor and Angel mentioned that, but they never really said what happened."

"They ended up imprisoned. They were tortured, my mum, my dad, my sister...it wasn't the Doctor or Angel's fault, but you need to be careful. 'Cos you know the Doctor, he's wonderful, he's brilliant, and so is Angel even though she'd probably deny it. But he's like fire, stand to close and people get burned. And there's only so much Angel can see or help with before she misses something."

Donna looked down, taking her words into consideration because...she'd seen it herself. She'd seen how much like fire the Doctor was when she'd first met him, with the Racnoss, and Angel had warned her herself that she couldn't see everything...

~8~

The two UNIT soldiers emerged from the basement and stood at attention by the door, blank faced, as Staal stood in the doorway, "Conditioning is complete. Now do your duty and advance the conquest."

"Yes, sir," they replied in monotone before slowly marching down the hall.

Staal watched them go before turning to head back into the room, "General Staal returning," he reported, "The stratagem advances..." he walked into a large cube with a circle cut into the middle of it, teleporting out with one last lingering remark, "The last days of planet Earth."

~8~

Mace brought the Doctor and Angel through the docking bay of the factory, "You are _not_ coming with us," the Doctor shook his head at the man, "I want to _talk_ to this Luke Rattigan, not point a gun at him and, no matter how comfortable Angel might make other people feel, a gun won't help."

"It's ten miles outside London," Mace reminded, "How are you going to get there?"

"Then get us a jeep."

"According to the records, you travel by TARDIS."

"She's not a car," Angel huffed, a little insulted he would assume the TARDIS was JUST transportation, "She's our home!"

"Yeah, and if there _is_ a danger of hostile aliens, I think it best to keep a super-duper time travel machine away from the front lines," the Doctor agreed.

"I see," Mace smirked, "Then you _do_ have weapons but you choose to keep them hidden."

"The TARDIS isn't a War TARDIS and I _won't_ let you turn her into one!" Angel frowned at the man, crossing her arms as though to say he'd have to get through HER to get to the TARDIS, which made the Doctor smile and put his arm around her, he loved how much she loved that old box, "The TARDIS stays here, understood?"

Mace's smirk turned into a small smile as he nodded, seeing the girl getting a little upset about his talks of the box made him feel a bit...guilty. Martha's notes were certainly right about her, she DID have a way of just...getting to you, getting into your heart without even really trying. It was just like Martha's notes about the Doctor and how he just had a way of getting people to trust him. He shook his head from his thoughts and turned, "Jenkins?!"

"Sir!" a young man called, running over.

"You will accompany the Doctor and the Angel, take orders from them."

"We don't do orders," the Doctor said.

"Any sign of trouble get Jenkins to declare a Code Red. And good luck, sir, ma'am," he gave them a salute.

"I said no salutes!"

" _Now_ you're giving orders," Mace smirked and left.

Angel blinked as she watched the man go, "He's just as cheeky as you are," she remarked to the Doctor, squeezing him around the middle, "But I like your cheek much more."

He beamed, "I love YOUR cheek," he leaned in, "Literally," and kissed her on said cheek, making her laugh.

"Doctor!" Donna ran up to them, "Angel!"

"Oh, just in time," the Doctor grinned, "Come on!" he grabbed her hand, "Come on, we're going to the country," and leading her to the jeep, "Fresh air, geniuses, what more could you ask?"

"I'm not coming with you," Donna pulled back a bit, making him stop, "I've been thinking. I'm sorry...I'm going home."

"Really?" the Doctor frowned as Angel looked at Donna, grinning from behind the Doctor's back, already anticipating what would happen, just _knowing_ that what the Doctor thought she was talking about wasn't what she was really talking about.

"I've got to."

"Well, if that's what you want. I mean, it's a bit soon. We had so many places we wanted to take you. The Fifteenth Broken Moon of the Medusa Cascade, the lightening skies of Cotter Palluni's World, the diamond coral reefs of Kaata Flo Ko...thank you. Thank you, Donna Noble. It's been brilliant. You…you've saved my life in so many ways, you've saved Angel and for that I can't thank you enough," Donna nodded, an amused smile on her face, and _then_ he realized, "You're...you're...you're just popping home for a _visit_. _That's_ what you mean."

"You dumbo," Donna shook her head as Angel laughed.

"And then you're coming _back_."

"Do you know what you are? A great, big, outer space dunce."

"Yeah," he tugged on his ear in embarrassment.

"Ready when you are!" Jenkins called from inside the jeep.

"Come on Donna," Angel took her hand, "We can give you a lift at least."

"Broken moon of what?" Donna asked as they piled in the jeep.

"I know," the Doctor shook his head, "I know."

Angel glanced to the side, out the window, eyeing two UNIT soldiers who appeared unnaturally blank as they drove past.

~8~

Martha sat in her lab coat, interviewing a worker in one of the examination rooms that had been set up, as he stared straight ahead, blank, "And your name's Treppa, yeah?" and stared some more, "Is that Polish?" and more, "Listen, we're not checking passports. It's not about that. But did you come across from Poland just to work?"

"I came to do my job," he replied in monotone, not even blinking.

"Ok…" she nodded slowly, already able to tell something weird was going on, "I need to listen to your heartbeat," she breathed on the stethoscope to warm it, "This might be a bit cold. Lift," Treppa lifted his shirt at the command and Martha listened, to hear a _very_ rapid heartbeat, a very unhealthy one. She pulled away and tried again, "Are you on any medication?"

"I'm here to work."

"How many hours a day do you work?"

"24."

"You work 24 hours a day?" she stared at him but there was no reply, "Down," she ordered and Treppa lowered his shirt, making her frown, he was FAR too obedient, "Mr. Treppa, have you had any form of hypnosis?"

"I'm here to work."

"Ok, um...if you could just wait here," she quickly got up and left, walking quickly down the hall when the two blank-faced soldiers came up behind her.

"Dr. Jones?" one asked.

"Not now, I'm busy."

"Just one question. Do you have Security Clearance Level One?"

"Yes, I do. Why?"

"Colonel Mace wants to see you."

"Oh good, 'cos I want to see him. Where is he?"

"Come with us," Martha turned and followed the two soldiers away, not even noticing their monotone voices.

~8~

The jeep pulled up to the corner of Donna's road, the Doctor and Angel stepping out, followed by Donna, "I'll walk the rest of the way," Donna told them, "I'll see you back at the factory, yeah?"

"Bye!" the Doctor shouted as he got back in.

"I hope you have a lovely time Donna," Angel hugged her quickly, "Say hello to your granddad for me," she smiled, hopping back into the jeep, assuming the little old man Donna had waved at before was related to her.

"And you be careful!" Donna replied, watching as the jeep pulled away before walking down the street. Everything looked so normal compared to the things she'd seen, the beautiful and terrible things she'd encountered, that it was almost surreal.

"Haven't seen you for days," a woman remarked as she passed Donna.

"Yeah. Been away," she looked over at young boy playing football and couldn't help but think of everything had happened so long ago yet only days there, the Adipose, the boy in Pompeii she hadn't been able to save, the Ood…and then she spotted her grandfather in the drive and only _barely_ managed to stifle a sob. He looked up, spotting her and waved his arms, beaming widely as he saw her alive and well again. She took off running, straight to him, as he gathered her into a bear hug.

~8~

Martha followed the two soldiers down to the basement, frowning, "What's he doing down here?"

"He asked to see you."

"Why? Has he found something?" the soldiers didn't answer, just opened a door to a room at the end of the hall.

Martha strode in, expecting to see Mace, but instead found an empty room with a bubbling pool in the middle of it. She turned back but the soldiers blocked her way, the door sliding shut behind them as they advanced on her. The lights in the hallway went out as the screams of Martha Jones echoed down it.

~8~

Donna sat with her grandfather at the table, having a cup of tea, recounting all her stories to him, "I said so, didn't I?" he laughed, "Aliens. I _said_ they were real. I just didn't expect them in a little blue box."

"It's bigger on the inside," she smiled.

"Yeah, but is it safe, then? This Doctor and Angel, are you safe with them?"

"They're amazing, gramps. They're just...dazzling. And _never_ tell the Doctor I said that. Angel probably already knows anyway, the psychic," she laughed a bit, "She's ginger too so we tell people we're sisters sometimes," she smiled, "She treats me like a sister too, that's...nice."

And it really was, to have someone care about you that much. She loved her family, of course she did, but...she DID wonder what it would have been like if she'd had a sibling, now she was finding out.

"But really though, don't tell them I told you anything."

"No," he agreed.

"I'd trust them with my life..."

"Hold up. I thought that was my job."

"You still come first."

"For God's sake, _don't_ tell your mother."

"I don't know. I mean, this is _massive_. It's sort of not fair if she doesn't know."

And then her mother walked in with the laundry, "Doesn't know what? And who's 'she,' the cat's mother?" she started folding the clothes, "And where have _you_ been these past few days, lady, after that silly little trick with the car keys? I phoned Veena and she said she hadn't seen hide nor hair."

"I've been...travelling."

"Oh, hark at her, Michael Palin. Are you staying for tea? 'Cos I haven't got anything in. I've been trying to keep your granddad on that macrobiotic diet but he sneaks off and gets pork pies at the petrol station," he tried to protest but she cut him off, "Don't deny it. I've seen the wrappers in the car. Oh, I don't miss a trick," Donna and him shared a smiled, "Now then, what were gonna tell me? What don't I know?"

"Nothing. Just...nothing."

"Good. Right, then. You can sit there and cut out those coupons. Every penny helps. This new mortgage won't pay for itself. Dad, kettle on."

"Yeah, kettle on," he got up, winking at Donna, it would be their little secret for now.

~8~

Jenkins, well Ross as Angel insisted on knowing his first name too, drove the jeep as Angel sat between him and the Doctor, the Doctor with his arm firmly around Angel's shoulders. He was a bit worried, she had been shivering slightly and, for once, he couldn't tell if it was a chill or excitement, but he'd asked Jenkins to turn the heat up a bit just to be safe, it seemed to be working which pleased him, "UNIT's been watching the Rattigan Academy for _ages_ ," Ross told them, "It's all a bit Hitler Youth. Exercise at dawn and classes and special diets."

"Turn left."

"Ross, one question," the Doctor glanced at the ATMOS as it went off, "If UNIT think that ATMOS is dodgy…"

"How come we've got it in the jeeps?" he finished.

"Yeah."

"Ha, tell me about it. They're fitted as standard on all government vehicles. We can't get rid of them until we can prove there's something wrong."

"Turn right," it instructed.

"Drives me around the bend," Ross smiled as he turned to the school drive.

"Brilliant," Angel laughed.

"Timed that perfectly."

"Ha," the Doctor laughed as well, "Yeah. You did. You're not psychic too are you?"

"No sir," Rose grinned, recalling what Mace had mentioned would be a way to stay on the Doctor's good side, "Nowhere near as special as your Mate sir."

Compliment Angel in a completely _platonic_ way, Martha's notes had been VERY specific about how the Angel reacted to 'flirting' and how Doctor reacted to Angel being 'flirted' with.

"This is your final destination," ATMOS shut off with the car.

~8~

Students in red sweat suits ran past the entrance to the school while the young man who had led them in tossing out Jo, Luke Rattigan, stood and looked over the grounds, "Is it PE?" the Doctor asked as they walked up to him, "I wouldn't mind a kick-around. Got me daps on."

Luke turned, "I suppose you're the Doctor and the Angel?"

"Hello," the Doctor grinned.

"Nice to meet you," Angel smiled.

"Your commanding officer phoned ahead," Luke glared.

"Oh, we haven't got a commanding officer," the Doctor said, "Have you? Oh, this is Ross. Say hello, Ross."

"Afternoon, sir," Ross greeted.

The Doctor turned and pulled Angel with him to the main doors, "Let's have a look, then! I can smell genius...in a good way."

~8~

Many of the students sat around a lab, working on quite a few advanced projects, when the Doctor entered and wandered around, leaving Angel with Ross by Luke though the ginger was always in the corner of his eye.

"Oh, now...that's clever!" the Doctor exclaimed, putting on his glasses, "Look! Single-molecule fabric. How thin is that?! You could pack a tent in a thimble. Oh! Gravity simulators! Terraforming, biospheres, nano-tech steel construction! Ha ha, this is _brilliant_!"

"I'm sorry about him," Angel remarked to Luke, even SHE was a little overwhelmed by his enthusiasm, she knew she should probably be able to guess what he was talking about, and so excited about, the items he'd described seemed familiar and related, but he was talking really fast, "He's very...fanatic about science."

"But y'know with equipment like this," the Doctor spun around to face them, "You could, oh, I dunno...move to another planet or something."

Angel nodded, there it was, THAT'S what they were used for. She started to smile at that, when she blinked...

... _the Doctor walked towards a hollow cube in the back of a vast room_...

'... _if they can trace that, they can isolate the ATMOS_...'

... _spikes shot up from the ATMOS grid_...

"If only that was possible," Luke remarked, not seeing Angel look over at him with a frown.

"If only that _were_ possible," the Doctor corrected, pulling off his glasses, frowning as well, Angel having shown him what she'd seen, making him all the more suspicious of the boy, they didn't know who the boy was in league with, but...he had heard himself clearly talking about someone controlling the ATMOS, "Conditional clause."

"I think you'd better come with me," Luke looked up, mildly alarmed.

~8~

"You're smarter than the usual UNIT grunts, I'll give you that," Luke remarked as he led them into his quarters.

Angel's eye was immediately caught by the large cube in the back with a circle carved into it, the one she'd seen in her vision.

The Doctor eyed it a moment as well before turning to Ross, "He called you a grunt."

"That's not very polite," Angel shook her head, pulling her gaze away from the cube and over to Luke, "He's a very nice man."

"We like Ross," the Doctor agreed, though he wasn't comfortable with people with guns with Angel in the same room...that was only untrue if said person with the gun was _protecting_ her, "Look at this place..."

"What exactly do you want?" Luke huffed.

"I was just thinking, what a responsible 18 year old. Inventing zero-carbon cars, saving the world..."

"It takes a man with vision."

"Mmm, blinkered vision. 'Cos ATMOS means more people driving, more cars, more petrol, end result: the oil's gonna run out faster than ever. The ATMOS system could make things worse."

"Yeah, well, that's a tautology. You can't say 'ATMOS system' 'cos it stands for Atmospheric Emission _System_. So you're saying 'Atmospheric Emission System System.' Do you see, Mr. Conditional Clause?"

"It's been a _long_ time since anyone's said _no_ to you, isn't it?"

"I'm still right, though."

"It can't be easy," Angel turned to look at him, almost knowingly, "Being so clever? Can it? The way you see the world, it's different than other people. You make so many wonderful connections, from the most random things. It must be hard to wonder why no one else sees what you do..."

Luke blinked, a bit startled by how spot on she was, "Yeah…"

"And you're all alone."

"I know."

The Doctor pressed a kiss to Angel's temple, ' _I'm glad you're starting to think you ARE clever,_ ' he told her.

She frowned up at him, ' _I was talking about YOU._ '

He just smiled, ' _Could have fooled me,_ ' he remarked but she looked confused, ' _Seeing the world in a different way, like the future perhaps, making connections, like knowing when someone's in danger, from random things, like little feelings and comments,_ ' he nudged her to remind her of her last self, the sometimes ridiculous things she'd say out of nowhere, ' _Something no one else can see..._ '

She blushed, ' _I really WAS talking about you though._ '

' _I know,_ ' he nodded, ' _But now you can see how much like YOU that is too._ '

She shook her head just a bit, she really couldn't see it, but she did like the fact that _he_ could see the connection. Maybe, one day, she'd see it too.

"But not with this," the Doctor pulled out the ATMOS device from his bigger-on-the-inside pocket, remembering the matter at hand, the danger they (Angel) were still in, "'Cos there's _no_ way you invented this single-handed. It might be Earth technology, but that's like finding a mobile phone in the Middle Ages," he handed the device over to Ross and slid his arm along Angel's waist to her hand. He kissed her hand quickly as he squeezed it before letting go and walking towards the hollow cube, "No, no, I'll tell you what it's like! It's like finding _this_ in someone's front room. Albeit, a very _big_ front room."

"Why?" Ross asked, "What is it?"

"Yeah, just looks like a thing, doesn't it? People don't question things. They just think, 'Oh, it's a thing.'"

"Sort of like, 'Oh it's an old police box,'" Angel joked.

"Correctamundo!" he pointed at her, grinning, "Just think of this as a hollow, cubed, police box."

"Leave it alone!" Luke seemed about ready to stomp his foot.

"Me, I make these connections too," the Doctor continued, walking inside the cube, "And this, to me, looks like..." he pushed a button, "...a teleport pod!"

And then he disappeared.

~8~

And reappeared on a teleport pod onboard a spaceship, an army of fully armored creatures stood around before him.

"Orbit now holding at 556.3, sector 270," a computer stated.

"Oh…" the Doctor's eyes widened.

The army turned to see him.

"We have an intruder!" Staal's voice cried from one of them.

"How did he get in?" the Doctor grinned, "In-tru-da window?" the army advanced, "Bye bye!"

He hit a button and disappeared again, running out of the teleport and into Luke's room, knowing the army was about to follow...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww, poor Doctor, his Mating instinct is getting him all worked up around people isn't it? But I loved that little moment where he makes Angel realize SHE could have been the one she was talking about too :) Sweet :) But...this episode's almost over! Only 1 more and then...the Poison Sky.


	18. The Sontaran Stratagem: The Sontarans Attack

"In-tru-da window?" Angel asked as the Doctor ran right over to her side, taking her hand and pulling her just a tiny bit behind him, "Were you channeling Van Statten?"

"No time!" he called, moving to pull her to the doors, needing to get her out of there, but Ross and Luke were just standing there, "Ross, get out! Luke, you'd better come with us!"

Just then Staal appeared in the teleport.

"Doctor!" Angel gasped, pointing back at the pod.

The Doctor spun around and flashed the sonic, shorting out the controls, making sure the rest of the army couldn't follow its leader. Unlike some armies throughout the Universe, where the generals and leaders would stay back, able to command their troops and not risk dying themselves and leaving their men without a commander, Sontarans believed the leader should truly, well, lead. The Sontaran in charge was always the first one into battle, the first to make the glorious attack against the enemy. And he couldn't risk more of them coming after the one, not with Angel in the room and Ross being the only one with a weapon, despite how ineffective it would be against a Sontaran.

"Sontaran!" he panted, praying this tactic would work and the alien would be distracted, there was no way he'd be able to get Angel out of there without the Sontaran attacking them from behind unless he was able to incapacitate it first, "That's your name, isn't it? How did I know that, eh?" he put the sonic away, "Fascinating, isn't it? Isn't that worth keeping us alive?"

Ross lifted his gun, "I order you to surrender in the name of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce."

"That won't work," Angel whispered to Ross who quickly lowered his gun, stepping to their side.

The records Martha had helped adapt about the Angel were _very_ specific, _listen_ to her. Even if she didn't know why she said something or knew nothing about the situation at hand, her words were often correct. Whether it was a vision or a feeling or something that just slipped through at times, the Angel was to be listened to at all times. If she said it wouldn't work, then it wouldn't work and there was no point in wasting bullets.

Not to mention, the files were also very specific about the Doctor as well. The man was VERY protective of his Mate and, at any inkling of danger, would become immediately on the defensive. According to Martha's notes there was really no telling how the man would react or who the target of his reaction would be. Martha had seen him face down Daleks and monsters and aliens and witches in the name of his Mate, he would do anything to protect her. _Anything_. If the situation tensed any more and the Doctor saw him with a gun...well, it had spread rather quickly through UNIT that the Doctor had kicked Mace out of the room for just having a gun in it while Angel was there. He did NOT want to be seen as a potential danger by the Doctor, not when the man might be the only thing that kept him alive.

"Cordalaine signal, am I right?" the Doctor looked at Staal before explaining it to Ross, "Copper excitation stopping the bullets."

"How do you know so much?" Staal glared though none of them could see it through his helmet.

"Well..." the Doctor walked around the room, trusting Ross to keep Angel safe for just the moment, Angel always in the corner of his eye anyway.

"Who is he?" Staal looked at Luke, making Angel frown.

"He didn't give his name," Luke replied, not seeing Angel looking between the two of them, making the connection the Doctor had as well, that the two had to be in it together. Why else would the boy have a teleport to the Sontaran ship?

The Doctor leaned on a desk, eyeing the alien, "This isn't typical Sontaran behavior, is it? Hiding? Using teenagers? Stopping bullets? A Sontaran should face bullets with dignity! Shame on you!"

"You dishonor me!" Staal cried.

"Then why don't you show us who you are," Angel added, knowing what the Doctor was doing. Even if she couldn't read his mind and saw his plan unfolding, she knew enough about him to know he'd never risk angering or insulting a Sontaran without a reason, and he wanted the Sontaran's helmet off. Because then the alien's weakness would be exposed. It was a good thing that the Doctor knew what a Sontaran's weakness was, now they just had to hope the alien wouldn't see what the Doctor's was.

' _Why do you think I moved over here?_ ' the Doctor called in her mind.

She looked over at him with a small frown of confusion, ' _To get the tennis racket on the other side of the desk._ '

He blinked and looked to the side subtly, seeing the racket really _was_ there, which made him smile, ' _Psychic._ '

' _Thief,_ ' she countered, ' _But really though, if not for the racket then what?_ '

' _YOU are my weakness Nella,_ ' he told her, gazing at her from across the room with such intensity that she felt her breath catch in her throat, ' _I had to make sure he would see me protecting you and try to target you._ '

She blinked, letting out the breath that had been caught, ' _Oh,_ ' she smiled a bit, ' _It's good that you're over there too. I don't want them to see my weakness._ '

He grinned, smug, ' _Which is?_ '

Her smile turned into a little smirk, ' _Your tie of course._ '

He blinked, about to pout at that, before he smiled, recalling what she often did with his tie, and his smile became a beam, his kisses were her weakness, HE was her weakness too.

He loved that.

"I will look into my enemies' eyes," Staal pulled his helmet off and a brown, domed face with no visible neck stared back at them, distracting them from their moment.

"Oh, my God," Ross stared.

"And your name?" the Doctor eyed it.

"General Staal of the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet," Staal said proudly, "Staal-the-Undefeated."

"That's not a very good nickname. What if you _do_ get defeated? 'Staal-The-Not-Quite-So-Undefeated-Anymore-But-Nev er-Mind?'"

"Looks like a potato, a _baked_ potato," Ross mumbled, "A _talking_ baked potato."

"Now, Ross, don't be rude."

"That's the Doctor's job," Angel added with a nod, "And besides, he probably thinks you look like a pink weasel in a red hat."

The Doctor leaned over and picked up the tennis racket Angel had mentioned before along with the ball that was resting on the table, "The Sontarans are the finest soldiers in the galaxy," he walked over, bouncing the ball on the racket in the process, and leaned on Ross's shoulder, "Dedicated to a life of warfare," he caught the ball and twirled the racket, "A clone race grown in batches of millions with only one weakness…"

"Sontarans have no weakness!" Staal cried.

"No, it's a good weakness."

"Aren't you meant to be _clever_?" Luke glared, "Only an idiot would provoke him."

"But the Sontarans are fed by a probic vent in the back of the neck. That's their weak spot, which means they _always_ have to face their enemy in battle. Isn't that brilliant? They can never turn their backs!"

"We stare into the face of death!" Staal replied.

"Yeah?" the Doctor smirked, "Well, stare at this!" he gave the ball a firm whack with the racket, sending it flying against the cube, bouncing right to Staal's probic vent which sent the alien staggering, "Out!" the Doctor yelled, shoving Ross on and taking Angel's hand, "Out! Out!"

They ran out of the room as Luke ran to Staal's side, fretting over the alien, "What have you done? What have you done?"

~8~

The trio ran out to the jeep and sped off.

~8~

"Don't touch me!" Staal shoved Luke away, standing slowly, getting his strength back, "A Sontaran would rather be court-martialed than show pain. I must return."

"But he broke the teleport," Luke said.

"Ha! Primitive sonic trickery!" he aimed his staff and shot a beam at the teleport, entering it with Luke, "The teleport is now repaired," and then they teleported out and onto the Sontaran ship where the rest of the army was waiting, "Our presence is known. Soldiers, we move to a war footing!"

"I see you face the battle open-skinned, sir," another Sontaran came over to him, "Might I have that honor?"

"You may."

"Thank you," he pulled his helmet off to reveal a face nearly identical to Staal's.

"How...do you tell each other apart?" Luke asked, looking between the two.

"We say the same of humans," Staal remarked.

"Tell me, boy, how many ATMOS devices have been installed?" the second soldier asked.

"They've gone worldwide, but only about half," Luke reported.

"Which means 400 million cars converted," Staal smirked, "A fine arsenal."

"Is it sufficient to trigger the conversion?" the soldier asked.

"More than enough, yeah," Luke assured them, "And the test signal proved that it works. 52 deaths in the same second, man, that is just so cool!"

"Is the temperature significant?" Staal frowned.

"No. That…that's just a phrase. I'll get my people ready. Just tell me where and when."

"Have we infiltrated UNIT?" Staal turned to his soldier.

"The process is about to begin," he replied.

"Then you'll see it completed, Commander Skorr. Get to it!"

"Yes, sir!" Skorr teleported out and into the secret lab where Martha Jones was now strapped to a basket-like table with a band of metal around her head.

"Is someone gonna tell me what the hell is going on?" she demanded, struggling more than she was when she spotted Skorr, "Ok. So listen, you're not the first aliens I've met. Just tell me who you are."

"Commander Skorr of the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet," he stated, "Known as Skorr-the-Blood-Bringer."

"What have you done to those two?" she nodded at the soldiers who were still standing there, impassive and stiff.

"Simple hypnotic control as with the factory drones. But with you, we need something more complex," he turned to the pool of bubbling goop and a hand and arm lifted up.

"What is that?" Martha gaped, staring at it in horror.

"Soon that will be you," Skorr smirked as the hand sank back into the liquid.

"You're not gonna get away with this!" Martha glared at him, "My friends will find me! They'll know what you're doing, trust me!"

Skorr just laughed at her pitiful attempts to frighten him. Sontarans did not feel fear.

~8~

Luke looked down at Earth from the ship, smiling at it in wonder, this was all he'd ever wanted.

"Orbit now holding at 556.3, sector 270," the speakers stated.

"Continue," Staal ordered a soldier before joining Luke, "War can never come too soon. Take your last look, boy."

"It was never big enough for me," Luke replied.

"I like your ambition."

"That doctor and that ginger woman, they were in a UNIT jeep," he smirked, "It should have ATMOS installed."

"You said you didn't know his name!" Staal glared at him.

"I don't. He just said 'Doctor' and she's 'Angel,'" he frowned, turning to Staal, sensing something more to it, "Does that mean something?"

"There is an enemy of the Sontarans known as the Doctor. A face-changer."

"Do you mean he's an alien too? What about the girl?"

Staal was quiet for a moment, "We have heard rumors of the Dalek fleet, a formidable army, a great enemy, destroyed by a single woman. The Angel, a face-changer like the Doctor," he smiled in thought of the power the woman must possess to be able to take out an entire army by herself, what a prized weapon she would be to their cause.

He briefly gave thought to giving the order to have her captured...but the legends, they claimed the Angel as the Mate of the Doctor, she would not be as easy a target to seize than the UNIT soldier they had taken, a former companion of the Doctor. No, Sontarans were wise in battle, they knew what battles to wage and which to avoid, they knew which enemy to provoke and which to stay away from. It would be unwise at the moment for them to attempt to take the Angel from the Doctor. Not only would the man not let the Angel out of his sight given he now knew of their involvement with the ATMOS, but he would not rest if they succeeded.

The Doctor was a disgusting pacifist. He avoided war and battle and bloodshed at all costs. Despite their plans for the Earth, the Doctor would not engage them in combat, he would not openly fight them in the hopes of killing them in battle, the finest way to die. If they took his Mate from him...that would not hold true. The Doctor would slaughter all of them in his quest to get his Mate back and they needed to survive to see their plans through. No, they would not take the Angel, not now...perhaps though, when the army grew stronger...

"She's an alien too?!" Luke gaped, pulling Staal from his musings.

"Legend says he led the battle in the last great Time War. The finest war in history and we weren't allowed to be part of it," he spat at that insult, "Oh, but this is excellent. The last of the Time Lords will die at the hands of the Sontaran Empire in the ruins of their precious Earth!"

~8~

Martha fought against her restraints as Skorr watched her, amused, "It is inadvisable to struggle. The female has a weaker thorax."

"What are you doing?" she demanded, glancing at him at controls of some sort.

"Completing mental transfer. The clone needs full memory access."

"Clone?" she looked over to see the hand rise from the pool, the skin now colored, followed by her face and body, "You can't…" she breathed, watching the clone, face blank, pull the cord from her neck, "That's not…"

"You will sleep, girl. Sleep and keep the memories alive," he pushed a button and Martha fell asleep, "Memories we can use in battle."

The clone's face immediately turned into a smirk.

~8~

A monitor flickered on in the Sontaran ship, tracking the UNIT jeep's progress, "We have the Doctor and the Angel's vehicle," a soldier reported.

"An ordinary death for such remarkable enemies, but proceed," Staal ordered.

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and Ross drove back to London, Ross speeding as fast as the Doctor would allow him to go with Angel in the car, the Doctor on the radio, "Greyhound Forty to Trap One. Repeat: can you hear me? Over."

"Why is it not working?" Ross glanced over.

"It's the Sontarans," Angel said, swallowing hard.

She _knew_ she should have realized it was aliens earlier. She'd had that same feeling of being watched from above as she had with the Racnoss. She should have worked it out that it was some sort of alien, but she just...hadn't. Her feelings were so frustrating at times, never getting the whole picture or anything, and her headache wasn't helping her any. All she really wanted to do was help the Doctor, be as great as he was, help people and it was so _frustrating_ when she couldn't stop situations from happening.

' _You have stopped more than enough,_ ' the Doctor reassured her, feeling a flash of disappointment and frustration surge through him from her, ' _You've saved so many people I couldn't._ '

' _I know,_ ' she sighed, rubbing her head, she just felt...irritated lately. The headache _still_ hadn't gone away and it was starting to get to her. It was like how she'd snapped at the Doctor and Donna in Pompeii, she, thankfully, hadn't snapped at them again after that, but she found herself having less patience at times, like now, with her feelings. She just...wanted it to stop and go away.

She closed her eyes a moment, resting her head on the Doctor's shoulder, she supposed that was exactly what the Master must have felt, and he'd had that drumming in his head for _centuries_.

' _You are NOTHING like him,_ ' the Doctor added, kissing her hair, ' _You never could be. It's just a headache,_ ' he promised her.

She nodded against him, it really was. It was probably just worse at the moment because she really _was_ worried about the Earth, what the Sontarans might be doing with the ATMOS. She knew worrying too much could give someone a terrible migraine, much like crying could as well, and right now she felt both. She really did feel like crying as they didn't know what was happening or what might happen or how to really stop it and she could just feel like whatever they thought it might be was just the tip of the iceberg.

"If they can trace that, they can isolate the ATMOS," the Doctor agreed, wincing as he realized he'd just said the same thing as in Angel's vision, and that did NOT help him calm down at all. He put his arm around Angel, squeezing her closer, now all too aware that the Sontarans could control the ATMOS, they could track them, and who knew what they might do then...and Angel was _right there_.

"Turn left," ATMOS instructed.

"Try going right."

"It says left," Ross shook his head.

"I know. So go right."

Ross tried but couldn't shift the wheel, he then let go and the wheel moved by itself, startling him, "I've got no control. It's driving itself. It won't stop!" he moved to open the door, "The doors are locked!"

"Argh!" the Doctor exclaimed as he flashed the sonic at the locks too, "It's deadlocked! I can't stop it!"

"Turn left."

The jeep jerked left, "The sat-nav's just a box, wired through the whole car!"

~8~

"Are they going in the water?" Luke grinned, watching the small dot that was the Doctor's jeep on the monitor as it moved, "Oh, I love it with the water!"

~8~

The tires screeched as the jeep swerved off the road, "We're heading for the river!" Ross yelled.

"ATMOS, are you programmed to contradict my orders?" the Doctor asked, his hand grabbing onto Angel's in a death grip.

"Confirmed."

"Anything I say, you'll ignore it?"

"Confirmed."

"Then drive into the river!" Ross stared at him, "I order you to drive into the river! Do it! Drive into the river!"

The brakes whined as the jeep came to a halt _just_ at the river's edge. The doors opened as the ATMOS started to short circuit, the three jumping out and running for their lives, "Turn right. Left. Left. Right."

"Get down!"

"But Doct…" Angel began, when the Doctor pulled her to the ground as he dove for it, rolling on top of her, covering her body with his against the explosion he was expecting to happen any minute now...

"Left. Right," ATMOS increased in pitch and speed, "Left. Right. Left. Right. Left! Right!"

Suddenly the panel sparked a bit and smoked.

The Doctor looked back, "Oh, is _that_ it?"

"I tried to tell you," Angel laughed from under him, "You know...you're not exactly light for being so skinny."

He looked back down at her, grinning, "You know," he countered, "I don't think I should get up though."

She tiltled her head to the side a bit, "Why?"

He just leaned down and kissed her softly, "I rather like this position," he murmured against her lips, "I can kiss you all I want and you can't stop me."

She smiled as he gently touched her cheek, "You can do that any time you want, you know I'd _never_ stop you."

"Promise?"

"I'd cross my hearts if I could," she laughed, her one hand was still held by his, her other lying across her stomach, smushed between them, "But I don't lie, you know that."

"So then," he grinned, "If you don't lie, how do you feel about me?"

He knew, of course he knew, but he _loved_ hearing it, he loved hearing her voice answering questions like that, talking about him, speaking of how she felt. Those words, her voice, they replayed themselves over and over in the back of his mind.

She looked at him softly, "You are the most important man in the Universe to me and I love you very much."

He blinked, feeling the air being sucked out of him at her declaration, said so honestly, so certainly, "Likewise," he breathed, really all he could manage to get out before he kissed her again.

Ross shifted a bit as he stood to the side, trying not to watch but feeling the need to remind them, for they had clearly forgotten, about the danger at hand. Martha's notes were right about that as well, the two Time Lords were very much in love and very sweet on each other.

He waited a few more moments before clearing his throat, "Um...the ATMOS?" he supplied.

"Right, yes," the Doctor shook his head, jumping to his feet, reaching out to help Angel up.

She swayed a bit, slightly dizzy, before laughing, "Seems you've made me too breathless again," she remarked, "I'm dizzy."

He just grinned and kissed the back of her hand.

~8~

"ATMOS terminated," a solider reported, "Mission accomplished. The Doctor and the Angel are dead."

"Then prepare the weapons," Staal ordered before turning to a comm., "Is the operative ready?"

~8~

Skorr checked on Martha, asleep, before facing her clone, "Ready and waiting to advance the great Sontaran cause, sir," the clone replied, putting on Martha's lab coat and engagement ring.

"Then go to work," Skorr ordered.

The clone nodded and walked out, flanked by the dazed soldiers.

~8~

Angel smiled as she made a knock knock-knock knock knock pattern on the door of a quaint little home and Donna answered, "Hello!" she greeted brightly.

"You would not believe the day we're having," the Doctor told her.

~8~

The Doctor examined the Nobles' car, taping the ATMOS device underneath it before opening the bonnet to look at the fitting on the engine while Donna stood by them, on her mobile, trying to reach Martha.

"I'll requisition us a vehicle," Ross said.

"Anything _without_ ATMOS," the Doctor reminded him, "And don't point your gun at people!"

Ross gave a small salute and headed off.

"Is it them?" Donna's grandfather called, stepping out of the house, "Is it them? Is it the Doctor and the Angel?" he looked over at the Doctor, checking under the bonnet, Angel standing beside him, watching with a frown, "Ah, it's you!"

"Who?" the Doctor glanced up at him, "Oh...it's you!"

"I knew he looked liked Donna!" Angel smiled at the man, the news stand man from the _Titanic_ , the same man Donna had waved goodbye to.

"What, have you met before?" Donna shook her head, looking between the three of them.

"Yeah, Christmas Eve," the man smiled, "They disappeared right in front of me."

"And you never said?!"

"Well, _you_ never said," he defended, before turning to them, "Wilf, sir, ma'am. Wilfred Mott."

"It's nice to meet you Wilf," Angel gave him a small hug.

"You must be two of them aliens," Wilf eyed them.

"Well, yeah, but don't shout it out," the Doctor laughed, shaking the man's hand, "Nice to meet you properly, Wilf."

"Donna, did she pick up?" Angel asked, growing concerned by the lack of response from Martha, whenever she would call Martha, every so often to check in, the woman, no matter what, usually answered after two rings at the most.

"She's not answering," Donna sighed, "What's it, 'Sontiruns?'"

"Sont _arans_ ," the Doctor corrected, "But there's got to be more to it. They can't be just remote-controlling cars. That's not enough."

"Is _anyone_ answering?" Angel asked again, _really_ getting worried, this was the fourth time Donna was trying to get through.

"Hold on," Donna heard the line click.

"Don't tell me...Donna Noble," Martha's voice spoke.

"Martha, hold on, they're here," Donna gave the phone to the Doctor.

"Martha, tell Colonel Mace it's the Sontarans," he said, "They're in the file, Code Red Sontarans. But if they're inside the factory, tell him not to start shooting, UNIT will get massacred. We'll get back as soon as we can. You got that?"

"Code Red Sontarans," she repeated, "Gotcha."

"And Martha," Angel took the phone suddenly, "Good luck."

"You too," she said before clicking the phone shut.

Angel frowned down at it, staring at it in her hand, just _knowing_ , "That wasn't Martha."

~8~

"Dr. Jones, found anything yet?" Mace called as the clone put her phone away.

"No, sir, nothing to report," she replied.

Mace nodded and continued on while the clone smiled behind his back, pleased, and went on her way.

~8~

"You're sure?" the Doctor asked, eyeing her.

"Almost entirely," she nodded.

He sighed, "Great…" he muttered, before nodding to himself, "Gotta figure this out first," he pulled the sonic out and began to flash the bonnet while Donna, Angel, and Wilf looked on.

"You've tried sonicing it before," Donna reminded him, "You didn't find anything."

"Yeah, but now I know it's Sontaran, I know what I'm looking for."

"The thing is," Wilf said, talking to Angel quietly as the Doctor was rather busy, "That Donna is my only grandchild. You gotta promise me you're gonna take care of her."

"Of course I'll take care of my sister," Angel told him lightly, smiling as she put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it, "Mum would be cross if I didn't, wouldn't she?"

Donna laughed, "Oh yes, 'mum' would."

"We take care of each other," Angel added, "Really though, I think Donna takes more care of us, she's brilliant like that," she smiled at Donna, making the woman blush a bit.

"Oh, yeah, that's my Donna," he smiled proudly, making her blush even more, "She was always bossing us around even when she was tiny. 'The Little General' we used to call her."

"Yeah," Donna sighed, " _Don't_ start."

"And some of the boys she used to turn up with, a different one every week. Yeah, who was that one with the nail varnish?"

"Matthew Richards. He lives in Kilburn now, with a man."

"But really Wilf, don't worry," Angel put a hand on his shoulder, "We do our best to take care of our companions."

Wilf smiled, reassured.

Suddenly spikes shot up from the ATMOS grid pattern, the same one, Angel realized, she'd been tracing in the factory.

"Whoa!" the Doctor moved back, "It's a temporal pocket! I _knew_ there was something else in there."

"It looks like it was hidden a split second out of sync with real time," Angel explained to Donna, the woman nodding along, she found she really got things, even complicated things about time and space, when Angel explained it. The Doctor rambled and talked too fast but Angel just seemed to know when you got confused and slowed down and tried to explain it simply, and she never stared at you like you'd dribbled on your shirt if you asked a question like another Time Lord tended to do at times.

"But what's it hiding?" the Doctor agreed, confirming Angel's suspicions.

"I dunno, men and their cars!" Mrs. Noble griped as she came over from the house, having seen them all huddled around the car, "Sometimes I think if _I_ was a car..." she paused, seeing the Doctor and Angel, "Oh, it's you! Angel and the Doctor, what was it?"

"Yeah, that's us," the Doctor waved a hand, not bothering to look up.

"Have you met them as well?" Wilf turned to her.

"Dad, it's the two from the wedding!" Mrs. Noble exclaimed, "When you were laid up with Spanish flu. I'm warning you, last time those two turned up, it was a disaster!"

And, as though hearing her words, gas started to blow out of the spikes...

"Get back!" the Doctor called.

~8~

"A converter has been activated!" a soldier reported.

"Show me where!" Staal rushed over as a hologram appeared in the middle of the room with a diagram of maps.

"London," Luke squinted at the readings, "That's Chiswick."

"Who can have such knowledge?" the soldier wondered.

"Only the Doctor!" Staal cried, "Then they survived!" he spat, before grinning, "Excellent! Then battle will be joined! Glorious warfare!" he moved to a comm. device, "Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet, we move to the final phase! Prepare the subjugation of Earth for the glory of Sontar!"

"Announcing Battle Status One," the speakers called, "All soldiers to positions," the warriors began marching through the corridor, "Repeat: we are now at Battle Status One. Rejoice!"

~8~

The Doctor soniced the car, managing to cut off the gas, "That'll stop it!"

"I _told_ you!" Mrs. Noble cried as the car sparked as a result, "He's blown up the car! Who is he anyway? What sort of doctor blows up cars?"

"Oh, not now mum!" Donna complained.

"Oh, should I make an appointment?" she wondered before storming off to call a repair shop.

"That wasn't just exhaust fumes," the Doctor frowned, "Some sort of gas. Artificial gas."

"And it's aliens, is it?" Wilf guessed, "Aliens?"

"But...if it's poisonous..." Donna realized, "Then they've got poisonous gas in every car on Earth..."

"Not every car," Angel frowned, looking around, "I'd say at least half though..."

The Doctor straightened and caught Angel's gaze, following it to see almost all the cars parked on the street had ATMOS stickers in them.

~8~

"Trigger the converters and deadlock every single one!" Staal ordered.

~8~

"It's not safe," Wilf decided, "I'm gonna get it off the street," he got into the car and the door shut behind him, automatically locking.

"No, don't!" Angel yelled a moment too late, the car turned on by itself, sending thick smoke pouring from the tailpipe.

"Turn it off!" Donna shouted as Wilf shook his head, "Granddad, get out of there!" she tried to open the door.

"I can't!" Wilf struggled, "It's locked!" he showed her the keys still in his hands, "It's the aliens again!" he hit the window.

"What's he doing?" Mrs. Noble shouted from the doorway of her house, "What's he done?"

"I've isolated it!" the Doctor called, trying to sonic the gas off.

~8~

All the cars all over London, all over the world, started emitting gas, making people cough and alarms go off.

~8~

"Turn them off!" Mace shouted, running into the docking bay where ATMOS was releasing the gas as well, "Turn them off! Turn off all engines!"

"It's all of them, sir!" a soldier cried, "Every single car on the planet!"

The clone and soldiers entered the bay, walking through, ignoring the panic, "Now we begin," she said, smirking as she glanced at the blank-faced soldiers, "Let's get to work."

~8~

"There's gas inside the car!" Donna pulled on the door, "He's gonna choke! Doctor! Angel!"

The Doctor ran to the door, trying to open it, flashing the sonic everywhere, "It won't open!"

Car alarms started going off as the other cars emitted the gas.

"It's the whole world," Angel breathed, coughing weakly as she struggled to try and get the door on the side opposite Donna open too.

"Help me!" Wilf gasped.

The Doctor rushed to the engine.

~8~

"400 million weapons!" Staal grinned, "Sontar-Ha!" he punched his fist, "Sontar-Ha!" and the other Sontarans took up the chant with him, as did Luke.

~8~

Wilf choked as Donna looked on helplessly, the Doctor pulled out a handful of wires from the ATMOS but nothing happened. He dashed to the middle of the road as Angel took a step to the side, closer to the front of the car, watching him.

~8~

The Sontarans continued their chant of victory.

~8~

The Doctor stood in the middle of the road, not knowing what to do as the smoke filled the air around him.

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh...the episode is over...(did you LOVE the fluff? :))...but the Poison Sky is next...oh boy, that's all I can say }:) Well, I can also say that we'll find out what episode of Torchwood I'll be crossing over too :)


	19. The Poison Sky: ATMOS Activated

"He's gonna choke!" Donna cried as Wilf slumped forward in the car, her pounding on the side of it, trying desperately to break the window open, "Doctor! Angel!"

"It won't open!" the Doctor ran back, flashing the sonic over the side of the door. Donna looked over at Angel who seemed be frowning at her hand.

Donna was about to ask her what _the hell_ she was doing just staring at her hand while her grandfather was _choking_ to death…when the hand in question started glowing golden. Her eyes widened as Angel slapped the windshield and the entire thing shattered, "What the hell was _that_?!"

"Get him out!" Angel just shouted, ignoring her for a moment as she rushed forward to help pull Wilf out through the front of the car.

"What was what?" the Doctor asked as he looked over at Donna and helped Angel get the man out, not knowing what had happened to shatter the glass but very thankful for it. Perhaps it was just a build up of the gas within, too much pressure or something, whatever it was, it was lucky it had happened, Wilf had nearly been done for!

Donna looked over at Angel, who was shaking her head 'no' behind the Doctor's back, such a pleading look in her eye that Donna found herself saying, "Nothing," and moving to help her grandfather as well.

Well, she said nothing for NOW, oh but she would be getting answers later, there was no doubt about _that_.

~8~

"All soldiers to a door!" a UNIT soldier ordered at the base, "Make the factory secure and take positions on the ground floor!"

"Wicowsky, take the soldiers into the factory!" Mace shouted, "Make the area secure. Seal off doors and windows."

Soldiers started pushing the cars still blasting the gas out of the factory, trying to clear the air, "We've tried everything, it just won't stop!" a soldier yelled.

Mace ran into the base, looking around at his crew, "What have we got?"

"ATMOS is running wild, sir," a young blonde woman reported, "It can't be stopped, it's _everywhere_. The whole planet!"

The clone of Martha entered the lorry-base and sat at a computer, using Martha's Level 1 Clearance to get into the NATO defense system.

~8~

"Thanks!" Wilf gasped as they helped him to his feet, the man breathing easier, if just a bit, from the semi-cleaner air.

"Get inside the house," the Doctor commanded, ushering Wilf towards the house where Mrs. Noble was standing, still watching from the front door, "Just try and close off the doors and windows."

"Doctor!" Ross called, pulling an old black car up, "Angel! This is all I could find that hasn't got ATMOS!"

Angel started coughing a little as she and the Doctor ran to the cab, the Doctor motioning her in first as he called back to Donna, "Donna, you coming?"

"Yeah!" Donna nodded, turning to go, when her mother grabbed her arm.

"Donna!" she shouted, "Don't go! Look what happens every time those two appear! Stay with us, please."

"You go my darling!" Wilf tugged his daughter back, freeing Donna from her hold.

"Dad!" she glared.

"Don't listen to her!" Wilf called, "You go with the Doctor and Angel! That's my girl!" Donna turned and ran to the cab, though they could tell she felt guilty leaving her family, "Bye!"

Angel reached over across the Doctor to take Donna's hand, squeezing it as they drove off.

~8~

"Success, the operative has the necessary information!" Skorr reported on the ship as they watched the information the clone was gathering pop up on their monitors.

"Good work for a female," Staal approved begrudgingly, "Now she must be protected."

"I will prepare an attack squad," Skorr turned and left.

"This is it, isn't it?" Luke grinned, excited, "Oh man, this is _war_!"

"How does it feel, boy?" Staal turned to him.

"Magnificent!" he beamed.

~8~

"The Government has declared a state of emergency," a News 24 reporter declared, "People are being told to stay away from all cars with ATMOS devices attached."

"The gas appears to be toxic," the AMNN announced, "We are warning anyone and everyone, stay away from the cars. Repeat, stay away from your cars."

~8~

The black car came to a stop outside the ATMOS factory, the trio getting out, "Ross, look after yourself, get inside the building," the Doctor instructed.

"Will do," Ross gave a nod before calling over the radio, "Greyhound Forty to Trap One, I have just returned the Doctor and Angel to base safe and sound, over."

~8~

The clone frowned, hearing this and rushed over to Mace, "Trap One, received," Mace was saying, having heard the report as well, "Over."

"Sir, message from the Doctor, he says Code Red Sontaran," the clone replied, needing to keep her cover should the Doctor ask about that particular message, that and having the soldiers attack the Sontarans would ultimately lead to their destruction, nothing could beat the almighty Sontaran Fleet!

"All troops, Code Red Sontaran," Mace ordered over the radio, "Code Red Sontaran."

~8~

"The air is disgusting!" Donna grimaced as she coughed.

"It's not so bad for us," the Doctor said, shrugging. It really wasn't, Time Lords were...

"Oh yeah?" Donna cut into his thoughts as she pointed back at Angel, the Time Lady leaning against a fence, coughing more than even _Donna_ was.

The Doctor's eyes widened at the sight, she shouldn't have been _that_ affected by the smoke. Time Lords were immune to quite a few things and their respiratory bypass system helped them breathe in almost anything. He quickly turned to Donna, needing to get her safe so that he could focus on his Mate, "Go on, get inside the TARDIS."

"She needs...a key," Angel called, strained through the coughing.

"Right!" he pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to Donna, "Keep that! Go on, that's yours! Quite a big moment really!"

"Yeah, maybe we can get sentimental _after_ the world's finished choking to death!" Donna remarked.

"Good idea!" the Doctor agreed, turning to go to Angel's side, putting an arm around her and leading her off.

"Where are you going?"

"Stop a war!" the Doctor said, rushing to the UNIT lorry as Donna ran off to the TARDIS. Just before they entered the base the Doctor sat Angel on the steps, the air a little clearer as most of the cars had been removed from around it, and pulled out the sonic, scanning her quickly to see if it might pick up what was going on with her, because clearly something was very wrong.

"What is it?" Angel wheezed as he stared at the results with wide eyes, "Theta," she called, getting him to look at her instead.

He just swallowed hard, his mouth opening and closing but no words came out, only able to shake his head.

She blinked, "Oh..." seeing what he'd seen in his mind, "But that can't be right..." she let out a breath, "That's impossible. I _can't_ be...we haven't..." before closing her eyes tightly and shaking her head, feeling herself getting worked up but knowing she couldn't let herself at the moment, if _she_ did, _he_ would and she needed him to be clearheaded right now, as clear as it could be now that they knew this, "No, not right now, no time right now," she decided and pushed herself to her feet, "We haven't got time to worry about that."

"Angel…" he began, standing and taking her hands to stop her from grabbing the door.

But she yanked her hands away, before she winced and pressed a hand to her forehead, her head was _throbbing_ now, the smell of the gas not helping, "Sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking a bit, "I just...we don't have the time, we _really_ don't," she looked at him, swallowing as she nodded, "War with the Sontarans first," she said firmly, not wanting to think about what the sonic said, not wanting to let HIM think about it either, "Me second."

"Never," he told her seriously, taking her hands this time, "Nella, you will _never_ come second to anyone or anything, not ever. Not to me. You're _everything_ to me."

She managed a small, soft smile at that, feeling the emotion behind his words course through her and lifted her hand to touch his cheek, "For now though, that's the way it _has_ to be," she told him gently, her thumb stroking his cheek, smiling more as he reached up his hand and pressed hers more to his skin, "Ok?"

He stared at her a long moment.

"Please," she whispered, " _Billions_ of humans are in danger Theta. _Please_."

He closed his eyes, shaking his head a moment, before taking a breath and nodding, "JUST until we stop the Sontarans," he told her, opening his eyes to show her the promise in them.

"Thank you," she kissed him quickly, twice as she knew he loved getting more than one from her, before she turned to open the base door, pulling him in.

~8~

"Right then, here we are, good," the Doctor shouted as they entered, Angel breathing a little better as there was no gas in the room, though her gaze immediately went to 'Martha' sitting by a desk, frowning. He glanced at the 'human' as well, realizing exactly what she was before turning to Mace, "Whatever you do, Colonel Mace, do _not_ engage the Sontarans in battle, there is nothing they like better than a war. Just leave this to us."

"And what are you going to do?" Mace turned to them.

"We've got the TARDIS. We're gonna get onboard their ship."

Angel watched as the clone pressed something on her PDA.

"Come on!" the Doctor called to the clone as he took off with Angel, regretful that he had to take her back out into the gas, but not about to leave her anywhere on her own, not with the Sontarans around.

~8~

The two blank-faced soldiers placed small devices on the doors of the TARDIS, "Ready for transport," one reported over the comm., the two of them stepping away as the TARDIS teleported out...with Donna still inside.

~8~

"The spoils of war!" Staal grinned as the TARDIS appeared on the Sontaran ship, "The Doctor's infamous vessel in Sontaran hands."

"It's time I made a move, sir, I have soldiers of my own," Luke stated, straightening, "I'll tell them of the honor and the glory, sir! I'll tell them that Planetfall is coming!" and with that, he teleported back to the Earth.

"He is behaving _exactly_ as predicted, sir," Skorr remarked, smirking, not seeing Donna peek out from the doors of the TARDIS and close them spotting the aliens.

"None of the humans can guess our _true_ purpose," Staal grinned.

~8~

The Doctor ran down the alleyway where they'd left the TARDIS, to see it had vanished, Angel with a small piece of cloth he'd pulled from the vast recesses of his pockets wrapped around her mouth and nose to help with the gas.

"But...where's the TARDIS?" the clone frowned.

"Taste that, in the air," the Doctor grimaced, "Yech. That sort of metal tang? Teleport exchange. It's the Sontarans, they've taken it," he looked at Angel, "We're stuck, on Earth, like...like ordinary people. Like humans! How rubbish is that!" he smiled a bit seeing her shaking her head at him, before he glanced at the clone, "Sorry, no offense, but come on!"

"So what do we do?"

"The TARDIS's shields were working," Angel said, eyeing the clone knowingly, "The Sontarans shouldn't have been able to detect her or even teleport her."

"What?" the clone looked between them as they stared at her for a few moments.

"Martha..." Angel swallowed, forcing herself to use Martha's name with someone who wasn't her, "Did you let your family and Tom know?"

"Know what?"

"About the gas," the Doctor said, "Tell them to stay inside?"

The clone tensed, "Course I will, yeah, but what about Donna? I mean, where's she?"

"Oh, she's gone home," the Doctor waved her off, "She's not like you, she's not a soldier. Right. So, Avanti!"

~8~

Luke stood behind his students as they looked out the windows of the school at London, the fog settling over it, "Leave it. Turn away. Civilization is falling!"

"But it's all over the news, sir, it's _everywhere_ ," a boy said, "Paris and New York..."

"It's time I told you, all of you," he grinned as they turned around to face him, "It's time I revealed what our work has been for!"

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and the clone entered UNIT's base again, "Change of plan!" the Doctor called.

"Good to have you fighting alongside us, Doctor," Mace nodded.

"He's not going to fight them," Angel frowned.

The Doctor nodded, " _Neither_ of us are fighting. We're not-fighting, as in not hyphen fighting, got it? Now, does anyone know what this gas is yet?"

"We're working on it," the clone replied, moving to one of the computers.

"It's harmful, but not lethal until it reaches 80 percent density," a young blonde woman explained as she stood, "We're having the first reports of deaths from the center of Tokyo City."

"And who are you?" the Doctor asked.

"Captain Marion Price, sir, ma'am," she gave a salute.

"Oh, put your hand down," the Doctor grumbled, "Don't salute."

"Jodrell Bank's traced a signal," Mace reported, "Coming from 5,000 miles above the Earth. We're guessing that's what triggered the cars."

"The Sontaran ship?" Angel guessed.

"NATO has gone to Defcon One, we're preparing a strike."

"You can't do that, nuclear missiles won't even scratch the surface," the Doctor said, "Let me talk to the Sontarans."

"You're not authorized to speak on behalf of the Earth."

"I've got that authority," he told Mace, serious, "I earned that a long time ago," he pressed the sonic into the UNIT control board but paused, thinking it over, "No, actually..." he looked at Angel, "Why don't YOU talk to them."

She blinked, "ME?"

He nodded, "The woman of peace, just what we need on the brink of war," he reached out and touched her cheek, "Go on, I know you can do it."

She frowned, "But...I've never negotiated anything before, and...you don't usually tend to let me talk to the aliens trying to _kill_ us..."

"Well," he had to wince a bit at that, he'd noticed he _did_ tend to pull her back from facing their enemies often, not so much now with Donna there, an extra pair of eyes to help him, but still, as he said to Mace, he didn't like people with guns pointed at his Mate, "We're safe for now, on Earth, in UNIT, while they're on their ship. I think it's safe enough for you to talk to them now."

She shifted, "What if I muck things up?" she asked in a small voice.

"You won't."

"But what if I do?"

He smiled, "You won't."

"But what if I DO?"

He laughed, "I can see that family resemblence shining through now," he told her, making her smile at the reference to Donna, "Ah, there it is, little bit of a smile," he tapped her chin with his hand, making her smile more, "Love that grin," he winked at her, "You just smile at them and I think they'll cave."

She laughed, "That's only YOU," she reminded him.

"Fair point," he nodded, "But you really will do fine, I believe in you."

She looked at him, seeing that he really DID think she could do it and took a breath, turning to the monitor.

"Brilliant," he beamed, switching on the sonic, and called out to the Sontaran ship, "Calling the Sontaran Command Ship under Jurisdiction Two of the Intergalactic Rules of Engagement."

"Hello," Angel added, "Nice to meet you, I'm Angel," and then added, "Mate of the Doctor."

Which made him beam.

~8~

Donna rushed to the monitor as she heard the Doctor calling out and Angel speaking, _just_ missing Rose Tyler appearing, calling for the Doctor, before she faded out and the Doctor and Angel appeared from the UNIT base, "Doctor!" she gasped, "Angel! I'm here, can you hear me?"

~8~

"Doctor, breathing your last with your weak, little Mate?" the monitor of UNIT sprang on and Staal appeared, sans helmet, in the ship.

"My God, they're like _trolls_ ," Mace gaped.

"You're being rude," Angel remarked back to Mace, not turning around or taking her eye off the monitor, off the Sontarans. Even SHE knew not to insult the Sontarans. She trusted the Doctor to know what he was doing if he happened to insult them, but the humans...she'd noticed when they were overwhelmed or scared or angry they tended to speak without thinking, and that could be very bad in this sort of situation.

And she was even more nervous with this being her first time actually being the one to try and talk an enemy down. She'd attempted it in Pompeii, tried to get the priestesses not to kill her, the Doctor had saved her. Every other time she'd managed to stop an enemy had been by using the Vortex, or she'd been facing the Daleks to try and keep them from harming the humans around her. Sometimes it made her feel a bit...disappointed in herself. The Doctor was so amazing in how he could stop an enemy, get them to wait, get them to listen, sometimes even get them to reconsider something. She could only wish she had that ability on such a scale.

But he seemed to think she could do it, try and calm the Sontarans. So she had to try, for him.

The Doctor smiled at her, he would have just made some sort of remark to shoot back the man's diplomacy skills but there was Angel, being polite about it all. He moved away from the controls, eyeing the Sontarans as he went to sit down in a chair, ready to just be a silent support to Angel, before thinking of something and tugging Angel to sit down instead, standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders, even more of a show of support. From there, the Sontarans could see him, focus on them both, and they'd have to listen to her.

He leaned down, "You can do it," he whispered in her ear, kissing her cheek as he stood.

She reached up and put a hand on his, taking a breath, "General Staal?" she began, wincing at how questioning that sounded, but she didn't want to insult him and get the name wrong though since they all looked so alike.

' _It's him,_ ' the Doctor told her silently.

"General Staal," she repeated, sounding more sure of herself, "Why are you attacking the Earth?" she shook her head, "Why are you attacking it from such a distance is what I mean. Don't the Sontarans usually fight their enemies face-to-face? Bravely and with honor and..."

"How dare you!" Staal glared, cutting in.

Angel winced, assuming she may have just accidently insulted them, but she was just trying to remind the Sontarans of their own code so they could see what it seemed like to everyone else.

The Doctor squeezed her shoulders, ' _Relax,_ ' his voice whispered in her mind, ' _You're doing fine._ '

"Oh, _that's_ diplomacy?" Mace scoffed.

"Quiet," the Doctor hissed at the man, Angel was nervous enough already.

"You impugn my honor, stupid female!"

"Oi!" the Doctor's glare snapped to Staal, "Watch it!" he warned.

Angel squeezed his hand again, reassuring HIM this time, she knew the Sontarans thought everyone who wasn't Sontaran was weaker and just...less...than them, it wasn't a real insult to HER, "General Staal," she continued, "I apologize for any slight against your honor, that was not my intention to insult the mighty Sontaran Fleet," Staal nodded, seemingly appeased by that, which made her breathe easier.

The Doctor dropped a kiss to the top of her hair, he would have just insulted the Sontaran right back, probably with a dig against the alien's height, but Angel wasn't that sort of person. He loved that about her.

"I was merely curious as to why you chose the tactic you did," she added, "Poison gas? Why would you submit to such a...small attack when you have all the power to blast Earth right out of existence," Staal started grinning at the seeming praise of the might of the Sontaran race, "You struck me as warriors of action, not observance. Why watch from your ship?" she frowned, watching the Sontaran for a moment, before blinking, "There's something else...isn't there? There's something _more_ you're planning."

The Sontaran stiffened, catching sight of the Doctor's smirk from behind Angel and realized, the rumors were _true_. The Time Lady had the gift to see the future, she truly did! They had assumed it was merely a whisper, a tale to be told...but the woman was truly intuitive. What an advantage that could be in battle...so THAT had been the Doctor's plan all along, let her talk, let her keep _them_ talking, until she got some sort of sense off them, some sort of glimpse into their plans.

Despite that, despite their plans on the verge of being discovered, Staal had to smirk, the Doctor certainly _did_ have quite a genius for war, a proper general utilizing every resource available to him.

"A general would be unwise to reveal his strategy to the opposing forces," he stated, let's see how long it would take the Time Lady to see the true depth of their plans, if she even _could_ see _that_ far.

"Then why target the Earth?" Angel asked, knowing she wasn't clever enough to trick the Sontarans into admitting what their plans were, and her head hurt too much to try and focus more on what it might be and see if she could 'feel' anything about it.

"The war's not going so well, then?" the Doctor asked, absolutely beaming at Angel, she was SO clever, she really had no idea just how much she was getting the Sontarans to reveal, just by talking to them, "Losing, are we?"

"Such a suggestion is impossible!" Staal glared.

"Doctor," Angel squeezed his hand again, actually...starting to feel confident, like, maybe, she _could_ do this herself.

"What war?" Mace asked.

"Um," she frowned, thinking, "It's a 50,000 year long war between the Sontarans and the Rutans."

"50,000 years of bloodshed," the Doctor muttered, shaking his head at the aliens.

"I don't understand that," Angel frowned at them, "Why would you fight for so long? So many people, not just your Sontaran brothers or the enemy Rutans, must have been hurt or died..."

The Doctor looked down at her softly for her concern for the lives of others, starting to squeeze her shoulders lightly, massaging them, ' _You're an angel,_ ' he told her.

"For victory!" Staal shouted, pulling the Doctor's gaze back to the screen, "Sontar-ha!"

"Sontar-ha!" the other Sontarans started to chant, "Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha!"

"Give me a break," the Doctor muttered, pulling out his sonic and switching the channel to _Tommy Zoom_ , knowing it would make Angel smile again, he'd felt her tensing beneath his hands at the war chant going on.

"Doctor," Mace scolded, "While I appreciate the effort your Mate is making, I would seriously recommend that this dialogue is handled by official _Earth_ representation. We do not have the time to converse casually with the enemy!"

The Doctor looked at Mace, "We don't have the time to go to _war_ either," he reminded the man, "Just let her talk, please, just trust her," he stared Mace down a moment till the man nodded, "Thank you," he turned back to the controls, sonicing the feed back to Staal.

"Have you ever seen _Tommy Zoom_?" Angel asked the Sontaran conversationally, "I love it."

"You will not be so quick to speak of trivial matters when you'll see our prize," Staal glared, not pleased with having been interrupted or ignored even for a brief moment, "Behold!" he gestured to the TARDIS standing behind him, "We are the first Sontarans in history to capture a TARDIS."

Neither the Doctor nor Angel looked very much surprised with the TARDIS being there. Angel stared at it a moment longer, _knowing_ Donna was in there, Donna was on the ship right at that very moment. Her stomach twisted painfully imagining how scared her 'sister' must be at that moment, surrounded by the aliens that might just kill her family.

"You're still not, I'm afraid," she told him, "A TARDIS...a TARDIS is far too _noble_ a prize to be captured by anyone, not even the Time Lords. We may grow them, but in the end a TARDIS _allows_ her Pilots to fly her."

~8~

Donna's eyes widened as she watched the Doctor and Angel look up, as though right at her, through the screen, "She forms a bond with her Pilots to protect them, just like family, like a _sister_."

"That's me!" she gasped, beaming as she realized Angel knew she was there! Which meant the Doctor did too, "I'm here!"

"Personally, I LOVE the phone box design," Angel nodded, the Doctor positively beaming behind her, "I think it's brilliant and I'm rather glad you keep refusing to let me fix her," she glanced up at the Doctor, her hand lightly rubbing over his, "I really do love it."

He just smiled and leaned down, kissing her for it, he loved that old box too.

And then Mace cleared his throat from behind them.

Angel blushed as she turned back to the monitor, "I especially like all the phones in it," she continued, "There's one behind the front panel, there's a phone on the console, and a _mobile_ from a friend too. It really is the best way to communicate, phones..."

"All you have communicated is your distress," Staal remarked.

"Oh my God," Donna looked around and grabbed Martha's mobile.

"You know, my family was responsible for the TARDISes, General Staal," Angel added, "I know how they work, how to fix them, all the little tricks..."

"But who do I phone?" Donna asked.

"Including...how to get her to materialize without being in her."

The Doctor held up a small device, "She's rigged up a remote control!"

"Cease transmission!" Staal ordered.

"But what number are you on?" Donna shouted as the screen went to static, "You haven't even got a number!"

~8~

"Remove the box from the War Room, beyond the transmission field," Staal turned to his soldiers.

~8~

"Oh, well," the Doctor smiled even as the screen went black.

"That's achieved _nothing_ ," Mace cried.

"You'd be surprised," Angel smiled softly.

"Oh you were brilliant!" the Doctor cheered, pulling Angel up and kissing her soundly, his arms wrapping around her as he spun them around.

She really was! She'd talked to the Sontarans, kept it polite, kept them from launching a premature attack in anger, managed to get SO MUCH out of them, AND communicate with Donna! And right at the end, she was just...in her element, talking about the TARDIS, working out a way to contact Donna, and just...

 _So incredible_.

That was his Mate, absolutely, positively fantastic!

Angel smiled as she hugged him tighter, for now at least, it seemed his mind wasn't on the sonic's results, and that was all she wanted.

~8~

Donna nearly fell to the floor as the TARDIS was pushed away, "But what do I _do_?!"

~8~

Luke stood in the lab before his students, his arms wide as he gestured to the devices around them, "All this stuff we've been building. All this invention. Where's it been heading? Gravity intensifiers, hydroponics, atmospheric conversion, eco-shell. More than enough to build a brand new world!"

"Luke, we haven't got _time_ for this," one of the boys said, "I've got to find my parents."

"Oh, but this isn't just theory. I'm talking Planetfall. For all of us. A brand new start for a brand new Human Race. Look," he opened a 3D projection of a planet, "A new world. Far out. Beyond Alpha Geminorium, just waiting for us. Its official destination is Castor 36. I think of it as Earth Point Two. I did wonder about Rattigan's World, but...we can take a vote on that."

"What _the hell_ are you on about?"

"This is where we're going. I have partners willing to take us there."

"Oh, he's lost it," a girl shook her head, "I haven't got time for this."

Luke turned off the projector, to see everyone turning to leave, "Excuse me, I haven't finished. Where are you going?"

"To find my brother!"

"I didn't say you could _leave_."

"I _told_ him to put ATMOS is his car. I've got to go and help him."

Luke pulled out a gun, "Stay where you are!"

"What do you think you're doing?!" she cried as the students banded together.

"Luke," the boy said, "Put that down."

"But...I did this for _you_!" he shouted, "Don't you see? We've spent all our lives excluded. The clever ones. They...they've _laughed_ at us. And pulled us down. Those ordinary people out there. Those cattle. This is our chance to leave them behind!"

"You mean you want them _dead_?" the boy's eyes widened as the students looked shocked.

"And I chose you to survive! With Planetfall we can start again. We can build and breed. We can prosper, we can do anything!"

"We're going to _breed_?" the girl looked disgusted.

"I've designed a mating program," he nodded, missing her tone, "I've planned the whole thing."

"Well then," she glared, "Shoot me!" and then she walked out.

"Stay where you are!" he ordered, "Stay where you are I said. Stay where you are!" but the students just ran out of the room, "Stay where you are, that's an order!" he lowered the gun as most of the students left the room.

"Castor 36?" the boy glared at him, "You're just _sick_."

He left as well, Luke standing alone in the room, "Guess that just proves it!" he shouted after them manically, "I'm cleverer then you! I'm cleverer then everyone! D'you hear me!" he stamped his feet, "I'M CLEVER!"

~8~

"The United Nations has issued a directive worldwide, telling urban populations to stay indoors," the News 24 news reader reported, "Those in rural areas are being ordered to stay away from all major cities. There are reports from every country in Europe of thousands of people walking across country to escape. And on the Eastern seaboard of America it's said to be reminiscent of Dunkirk, with boats taking refugees out into the Atlantic."

"With the freeways blocked by ATMOS cars, populations of major cities are now walking across open country to escape the fumes," the AMNN reporter stated, "It is being likened to a Biblical plague. Some are calling this the End of Days."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? What?! What! What did the Doctor see?! What did the sonic say?! WHAT IS GOING ON!? Lol well...we'll find out hints of what's happening in the next chapter...but the final chapter of TPS...oh...that's when it all comes to light...
> 
> But awww, how sweet was it that the Doctor let Angel try to negotiate :) I suppose he figured why not let the peacemaker talk peace? Too bad the Sontarans are more men of war than anything :)


	20. The Poison Sky: The Choking Earth

"Mum?" Donna phoned home on Martha's mobile, still feeling truly guilty for having left them like she had. It was just like what she and Martha had discussed, how people got so caught up by the Doctor and Angel that they just...ran...and didn't even think about what, no, who, they left behind and right now, her family was in danger and she wasn't there, "You alright?"

"Donna!" her mother gasped, picking up, "Where are you sweetheart?"

She smiled at that, her mother, while rather harsh on her most of her life, really _did_ love her and care about her as she could clearly hear in her mother's voice at that moment. Now she just had to wait and see how long that would last for.

"Is that her?" Wilf called in the distance.

"Oh, just finish the job," her mother called back to him, "Your granddad's sealing us in. He's sealing the windows. Our own house, and we're sealed in! All those things they said about pollution and ozone and carbon, they're really happening aren't they?"

"There's people working on it, mum," she told her gently, wanting to reassure her like Angel always did, "They're gonna fix it, I promise."

"Oh, like you'd know, you're so clever?"

She closed her eyes, well apparently the concern didn't last all that long and that just made her feel more useless. She couldn't even reassure people properly, "Oh don't start. Please, don't."

Her mother was silent a moment, a sign she knew meant she really felt bad about snapping just then, her mother was rarely _ever_ quiet like that, "I'm sorry," her mother whispered to her, "I wish you were here."

"Now, come on Sylvia, look," Wilf called, "That doesn't help," and then he was on the phone, "Donna? Where are you?"

Donna smiled and looked around at the TARDIS humming gently at her, "It's sort of hard to say. You alright?"

"Yeah, fighting fit, yeah. Are they with you, the Doctor and Angel?"

"Oh, _them_!" Sylvia scoffed in the background.

"No," she told him quietly, "I'm all on my own."

"Look, you promised they were gonna look after you. That Angel girl promised..."

"They will, Gramps. Angel wouldn't lie to you about that. There's just...something they need me to do. I just don't know what."

"Well, I mean, the whole place is _covered_ , the whole of London they're saying and the whole...the whole world. It's the scale of it, Donna. I mean, how can two people stop all that?"

"Trust me," Donna smiled, nodding to herself, "They can do it."

"Yeah, well if they don't, you tell them they'll have to answer to me."

"I will," she laughed, even if she couldn't make other people feel better like Angel did, at least her gramps could, "Just as soon as I see them, I'll tell them," and with that she ended the call with a little sigh.

~8~

The Doctor nabbed a clipboard from the clone as he and Angel entered an examination room in the back of the lorry-base, "There's carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, but 10 percent unidentified," the clone replied, watching him carefully as he flipped through it, trying to keep her gaze from drifting to Angel, the ginger was staring at her intently, it was a little unnerving the knowing look in her eyes, the Sontarans had warned her the girl might be psychic and she was doing all she could to act as Martha would and to distract her, "Some sort of artificial heavy element we can't trace. You ever seen anything like it?"

"Must be something the Sontarans invented," the Doctor muttered, "This isn't just poison," he glanced at Angel, "You were right, they need this gas for something else. What could that be?"

"I dunno," Angel sighed, shaking her head. Right now, for some reason, all she was thinking about was that old phrase 'one man's trash is another man's treasure,' that was the expression yes? But it didn't make sense, she KNEW the gas was poisonous to the humans but valuable to the Sontarans, they all knew that, they wouldn't be using it if they didn't need it.

"Launch grid online and active!" Price cried from the main room.

"Positions ladies and gentlemen, Defcon One initiatives in progress," Mace called.

"What?!" the Doctor turned and ran back into the base, "I told you not to launch!"

"The gas is at 60 percent density, 80 percent and people start _dying_ , Doctor. We've got no choice."

"You always have a choice!" Angel frowned.

The Sontarans were terrible warriors, she knew that at least, an open attack against their ship would force them to retaliate, the humans would be slaughtered faster by open combat with the aliens than the gas. The gas, while deadly, at least gave them more time. And they were Time Lords, they were good with time.

"Launching in 60, 59, 58, 57, 56…" Price began the countdown, ignoring them, "Worldwide nuclear grid now coordinating. 54, 53..."

~8~

The Sontarans followed the countdown on their ship, having a direct link thanks to the clearance the female clone had given them, "Ha!" Staal laughed, "The planet is going nuclear! I admire them. The bravery of idiots is bravery nonetheless."

"The operative is in place, sir," a soldier reported.

"Commander Skorr!" he called into a comm., "Is the attack squad ready?"

~8~

"Ready and eager for battle, sir," Skorr replied as he stood at the head of a line of soldiers, fully armed, ready for battle, in the factory, "We've been watching for long enough, it'll be good to taste blood."

~8~

"You're making a mistake, Colonel!" the Doctor yelled, "For once, I hope the Sontarans are ahead of you."

Angel shifted at those words, for some reason, she had the feeling the Sontarans were very much ahead of them, ahead of them all.

"North America, online," Price reported, "United Kingdom, online. France, online. India, online. Pakistan, online. China, online. North Korea, online. All systems locked and coordinated."

Angel blinked, "It won't work."

The Doctor looked at her, taking her hand, rubbing circles on her knuckles, more to calm himself than her. He believed her, fully and completely. If she said it wouldn't work, it wouldn't...but why?

"Launching in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5..."

"God save us," Mace murmured.

The Doctor glanced at Angel, seeing her gaze on the clone, watching _her_ instead of the countdown, and decided to watch her as well.

"...4, 3, 2, 1..." Price finished as they saw the clone press 'NO' on her PDA, "0."

And the screens went black.

Angel smiled as the Doctor squeezed her hand, relieved.

"What is it?" Mace frowned, "What happened? Did we launch? Well, did we?"

"Negative, sir. The launch codes have been wiped, sir. It must be the Sontarans."

"Can we override it?"

"Trying it now, sir."

"Missiles wouldn't even dent that ship, so why are the Sontarans so keen to stop you?" the Doctor wondered before turning to the clone, "Any ideas?"

"How should I know?" she shrugged.

The Doctor frowned at that and looked at Angel, "Any feelings?"

She scrunched her face a bit, trying to see if she might sense something, only to bite the inside of her lip, it was...hard. Harder than it should be. She'd...she'd been able to try and focus and get feelings before, sometimes surprisingly easily, but this...it was actually difficult. And...she knew it had nothing to do with her worry or fear for the humans distracting her, no, this was something else...

~8~

"Now protect the operative," Staal ordered through the comms. as Sontarans marched through the ATMOS factory to do as commanded.

~8~

Ross stood in the factory, guarding a deserted corridor with four more very bored soldiers, "Stinking out there," he paused in his pacing when he heard something, "Shh! Keep it down lads," and then he saw them, the Sontarans marching down the hall...

~8~

Angel blinked, "They're in the factory…" she breathed, finally getting a feeling.

"Who?" the Doctor looked at her.

"The Sontarans!" she looked at him, alarmed, before turning to grab Mace's arm, "Get them out of there!"

"Enemy within!" Ross shouted on the radio, "At arms! Greyhound Forty declaring absolute emergency. Sontarans within factory grounds, east corridor, grid six."

"Absolute emergency, declaring Code Red," Mace ordered, "All troops, Code Red!"

"Get them out of there!" the Doctor yelled as well.

"All troops, open fire!"

"No you need to get them _out_!" Angel tried.

There was the sound of clicking but no shots and the Time Lords knew what that meant.

"The guns aren't working!" Ross called, "Inform all troops, standard weapons _do not work_ ," and then there was the sound of lasers being fired followed by the shouts and screams of the soldiers.

The Doctor quickly pulled Angel into his arms at the sounds of the humans dying, the ginger burying her face into his chest, covering her ears, not wanting to listen to it, she'd heard enough of that on Gallifrey, ' _It'll be alright,_ ' his voice soothed in her mind, ' _I promise, we'll stop them..._ ' he rubbed circles on her back, holding her closer, feeling her shaking, she really hated death.

"Tell the Doctor it's that Cordalaine signal," Ross managed to get out, "He's the only one who can stop them…"

And then Ross's radio cut to static.

Angel winced, letting out a small sob, she rather liked Ross, he was a nice human, very brave, very sharp and determined and now...now he was gone. The Doctor dropped a kiss to her hair, trying to calm her, his hearts breaking for her, but knowing her getting worked up wouldn't help her any.

"Greyhound Forty, report," Mace ran to the comms., "Over. Greyhound Forty, report. Greyhound Forty, report!"

"He wasn't Greyhound Forty!" Angel turned in the Doctor's arms, actually _glaring_ at the man, "His name was _Ross_!"

"Now listen to us!" the Doctor shouted, gripping Angel tighter to him, closer, as he too glared at Mace, perceiving the man as one of the reasons his Mate was so upset and distressed at the moment, if he'd just _listened_ , heeded Angel's warning the _moment_ she made it...those men, those young boys, would still be alive, "GET THEM OUT OF THERE!"

"Trap One to all stations," Mace said into the radio, "Retreat. Order imperative, immediate retreat!"

~8~

The UNIT soldiers ran everywhere, trying to get away from the Sontarans, "Retreat!" they shouted, "Retreat!"

But the Sontarans marched out and started shooting everyone down, not caring if their enemies weren't facing them. The humans were taking the cowards approach and fleeing from battle, they had no honor and so they died the dishonorable way.

Two blank-faced UNIT soldiers walked out and addressed the Sontarans, just standing there, "Reporting for duty, sir!"

The Sontarans walked past them and then turned back and shot them down with no warning, "This is too easy!" Skorr remarked as they turned and carried on, "Their running like slimebait from a speelfox," he laughed as they continued to shoot the soldiers, "This isn't war, this is sport!"

The factory doors slid down, sealing them inside.

~8~

"They've taken the factory," Mace reported.

"Why?" the Doctor frowned, "They don't need it. Why attack _now_? What are they up to? Times like this, I could do with the Brigadier. No offense."

"None taken. Sir Alistair's a fine man, if not the best. Unfortunately he's stranded in Peru."

"We should go see him about that," Angel remarked, "Give him a lift back."

The Doctor smiled at her for that, they were in the middle of a possible war and she was still giving time to think about even more people. He really should introduce her to the Brig, the man, while human, had become one of his truest and dearest friends and it was only fitting that the Brigadier meet his Mate. The man could be so serious at times and he knew Angel could bring a smile to anyone's face.

"Launch grid back online," Price cut in as the screen turned back on to show a map of the world.

Angel looked over as the clone pushed a button on her PDA and the screen went black again. The Doctor followed her gaze, catching sight of that as well.

"They're inside the system, sir. It's coming from _within_ UNIT itself."

"Trace it," Mace pointed at her, "Find out where it's coming from, and quickly. Gas levels?"

"66 percent in major population areas. And rising."

~8~

"Commander Skorr reports victory with many glorious deaths," Skorr was reporting to the ship, when Luke teleported in behind Staal.

"Sorry to report, sir, I've failed," Luke sighed, "They wouldn't come. The students, they…didn't have the imagination to believe."

"A pity," Staal remarked, "We've lost our target practice!"

Luke stiffened, "What do you mean?"

"Upon arrival onboard this ship, your students would have been shot down. Perhaps they were more clever then you thought."

"You promised!" Luke glared at him.

"There was no Planetfall. Castor 36, indeed!" the Sontaran scoffed, "We only needed you for installation of the ATMOS system."

"No, but..." Luke paused in his attempt to remind the Sontaran that it couldn't be ATMOS _system_ because that would be Atmospheric Emmissions System System...when the alien's words registered, "I'm on your side! I did everything you wanted!" before he HAD to add, because it really did bother him, "And it's not ATMOS system, that's a tautology. Just ATMOS."

"Execute him!" Staal ordered, but Luke pressed a button and teleported away, "A coward's retreat. Now close all teleport links to Earth. Isolate them as they perish."

~8~

Luke appeared on the floor of his teleport pod, crying for how easily he'd been manipulated and for what he'd sentenced the Earth to.

~8~

"Why are they defending the factory only _after_ we were inside?" Mace asked.

"Because they _wanted_ UNIT here," Angel said, frowning as she thought on it, as she felt it, "You had something they needed, so they had to draw you out, bring you there where they could get it. Whatever it is...it's inside the factory. It's...something precious."

The Doctor smiled, winding an arm around her shoulders as she rubbed her head.

"Then we've got to recover it," Mace determined, "This Cordalaine signal thing, how does it work?"

"The bullets," the Doctor replied, "It causes expansion of the copper shell."

"Excellent," Mace nodded, getting up and leaving, "I'm on it."

"For the billionth time, you can't fight Sontarans!" the Doctor yelled after him, but Mace was already gone. He sighed, sliding his arm down Angel's to take her hand before turning to the nearest officer, speaking quietly as Angel kept an eye on the clone, making sure she didn't hear or see them sneak off, "Phone. Have you got a phone? I need your mobile, quickly, hurry up!"

The officer handed over the phone and the Doctor headed to the back room, Angel shutting the door behind them as the Doctor called up Martha's mobile on speakerphone, "What's happened, where are you?" Donna picked up immediately.

"Still on Earth," the Doctor said, "But don't worry, we've got our secret weapon."

"What's that?"

"You."

"Oh. Somehow that's not making me happy. Can't you just zap us down to Earth with that remote thing?"

"Yeah, I haven't actually got a remote, though I really should…"

"I _can_ make you one if you like," Angel offered.

"Brilliant!" he beamed at her, "Could you put it on the key? Maybe add a lock system that sounds like a car alarm? That'd be brilliant. You know I had a car once and..."

Angel leaned in and kissed him quickly, "Donna and the Sontarans?" she reminded him.

"Right, yes!" he nodded, holding the phone back up, getting back to Donna, "But we need you on that ship. That's why I made them move the TARDIS. I'm sorry, but you've got to go outside."

"But there's Sonterruns out there!" Donna cried.

"Sont _arans_. But they'll all be on battle stations right now. They don't walk around having coffee. We can talk you through it."

"But what if they find me?"

"I know Donna," Angel said gently, walking over to the Doctor's side from the door, taking the phone with him, her fingers curling around his own, making him frown, they were a bit cold, so he lifted his other hand to put his over hers, warming them, making her smile at the sweet gesture, "And we wouldn't ever ask, not ever, but we can't do much from down here. Donna...the whole planet is choking, your family is in danger, and now...YOU can be the one who saves them."

Donna was silent for a moment before speaking, "What d'you need me to do?"

The Doctor pressed a kiss to Angel's temple, she really was just so wonderful and she didn't even see it, "The Sontarans are inside the factory which means they've got a teleport link with the ship," he explained, "But they'll have deadlocked it. We need you to reopen the link."

"But I can't even mend a fuse!"

"Donna!" Angel cut in, frowning, "Stop talking about yourself like that. My sister is nothing short of amazing!" she smiled, hearing Donna give a small chuckle at that, she knew it would cheer Donna up, hearing her being called her sister again, "You _can_ do this. I promise you. I know you can. Because you are absolutely brilliant. Right Supertemp? You know I'm right," she teased, her voice a bit sing-song, "You can't argue with a psychic you know..."

Donna laughed again, "Right Supergirl."

The Doctor grinned widely at that, at that little nickname Donna had given her much like his own 'spaceman' title, ' _I think we may just have superhero costumes in the wardrobe,_ ' he remarked.

She laughed, ' _That'd be brilliant! Gingers United, with uniforms of capes and boas!_ '

' _I love it,_ ' he laughed as well, imagining it...and then swallowing hard, imagining Angel in quite a few of the very popular super heroine costumes, some being a bit...revealing.

' _Not quite THAT far,_ ' she blushed, seeing her in them as well, and looked down. He always made her out to be so beautiful in his mind, she really couldn't see it though.

' _That's the way I see you,_ ' he reached out lightly and lifted her chin to look her in the eyes, her beautiful hot chocolate eyes, making her look at him, ' _That's the way I will ALWAYS see you._ '

She smiled, leaning in to brush her nose to his, ' _I'll always see you as handsome,_ ' he grinned, ' _Devilishly handsome really._ '

He winked at her, ' _Fitting as your beauty would rival the angels._ '

She laughed, ' _Charming. Witty. Clever,_ ' she watched as his grin grew wider with each word, ' _The most mad, ridiculous, wonderful man with the most incredible hair,_ ' she reached out and ran her hand through it, smirking slightly at how his eyes automatically fell closed and he leaned into her touch, groaning just a little under his breath at the sensation, ' _And..._ ' she trailed her hand from his hair to his cheek and down to his chest, ' _The most useful tie in the Universe,_ ' she tugged him a little by his tie, kissing him soundly, grinning as she pulled away, ' _A little bit foxy too,_ ' she joked.

"There's a Sonterrun!" Donna shouted suddenly over the phone, the small sound of the TARDIS door shutting quickly, "Er, Sontaran."

"But he didn't see you," Angel calmed her, pulling her attention away from the Doctor and back to Donna, feeling a bit guilty for having forgotten her for a moment.

The Doctor's grin just turned smug, pleased he was able to distract her the way she often did him, she really had no idea how difficult it was for him to focus on anything besides her did she?

"No," Donna breathed, "He's got his back to me."

"Right, Donna, listen," the Doctor began, shaking his head from his thoughts, they really DID need to focus, Angel would be very cross with him if his distraction led to the injury or possible death of her sister, "On the back of his neck, on his collar, there's a sort of plug, like a hole. The probic vent. One blow to the probic vent knocks 'em out."

"But he's gonna kill me."

"No he won't," Angel said gently, "He won't Donna, I swear it, he won't hurt you...'cos you're gonna whack him before he knows what hit him…you'll beat him."

There was silence for a moment as the door to the TARDIS opened again, they held their breath and...then there was a thud, "Back of the neck!" Donna cheered.

"Oh I told you! Well done!"

"Now then you gotta find the external junction feed to the teleport," the Doctor continued.

"What...what's it look like?"

"A circular panel on the wall. Big symbol on the front, like a...like a letter T with a horizontal line through it. Or...or two Fs back-to-back."

"Well, there's a door…"

"Should be a switch by the side."

"Yeah there is. But it's Sontaran-shaped, you need three fingers."

Angel laughed, "Live long and prosper Donna."

"Oh, yeah!" Donna laughed as well at Angel's polite way of reminding her she had three fingers, and then there was a whoosh, "I am through."

"Oh, you are brilliant, you are!" the Doctor beamed, "I definitely see that family resemblance now!"

"Shut up. Right. T with a line through it..."

"Doctor," Angel whispered, nodding back to the room where Mace had just returned.

"Got to go," the Doctor told Donna, switching the phone off speaker, "Keep the line open!"

"Counter-attack!" Mace grinned as they walked in.

"I said you don't stand a chance!" the Doctor argued.

"Positions! That means everyone!" he tossed them each a gasmask.

"You're not going without me!" the clone called, getting up.

"Wouldn't dream of it," the Doctor smiled tensely before making sure Angel's mask was secure.

~8~

Donna hid in a shadowy corner when a troop of Sontarans marched past.

~8~

Outside the ATMOS factory, UNIT was gathered, all wearing gasmasks, even the Doctor, as Colonel Mace showed him a gun, "Latest firing stock, what do you think, Doctor?"

"Are you my mummy?" the Doctor asked him as Angel just shook her head at him.

"If you could concentrate," Mace deadpanned, "Bullets with a _rad-steel_ coating, no copper surface. Should overcome the Cordalaine signal."

"But the Sontarans have got lasers! You can't even see in this fog, the night vision doesn't work."

"Thank you Doctor, thank you for your lack of faith, we'd have thought with your Mate being who she is that you'd have more of it," Mace replied dryly, "But this time, I'm not listening," he pulled off his mask and addressed the soldiers, "Attention, all troops! Sontarans might think of us as primitive, as does every passing species with an axe to grind. They make a mockery of our weapons, our soldiers, our ideals. But no more! From this point on, it stops. From this point on, the people of Earth fight back and we show them! We show the warriors of Sontar what the Human Race can do! Trap One to Hawk Major! Go, go, go!"

They all looked up at the thunderous noise ringing out above them. The fog began to clear away so they could see the _Valiant_ lowering down.

"It's working! The area's clearing. Engines to maximum!"

"It's the _Valiant_!" the Doctor's eyes widened…before he turned sharply to Angel, his mind racing.

No, oh _please_ no...

That year, all that time the Master kept them apart, the 'medical exams' he'd 'kindly' offered to run on Angel while they'd been there. Oh please... _no_...it couldn't be.

"UNIT Carrier Ship _Valiant_ reporting for duty!" Mace cheered, looking at them, "With engines strong enough to clear away the fog."

"That is really...brilliant," Angel smiled at him sadly, her mind coming to the same conclusion as the Doctor, reaching out to take his hand, squeezing it as he stared at her, near tears, his hearts racing and breaking at the same time.

But it just...it _couldn't_ be...

"Getting a taste for it, Doctor?"

"No," he shook his head, putting an arm around Angel as the horrible truth hit him, "Not at all."

" _Valiant_ , fire at will!" Mace shouted, not seeming to notice their downcast attitudes. A bunch of green beams united and the _Valiant_ fired at the ATMOS factory while UNIT soldiers attacked on foot too. And this time it was the _Sontarans_ who were overpowered, "East and north secure. Doctor?" he rushed off with soldiers.

' _Don't think about it Theta,_ ' Angel's voice pleaded in his mind as he looked down at her, ' _Please don't. We need to focus on Donna. Now that the Sontarans are losing, they're going to be more alert, we have to get her out of there._ '

He sighed but nodded, wanting nothing more than to get her back to the TARDIS and have the old box scan Angel with the tech designed for a Time Lord, but in order to do that, they had to get the TARDIS, and Donna, back first.

He picked up the mobile again, "Donna, hold on. We're coming."

And then the clone approached, following them, "Shouldn't we follow the Colonel?"

"Nah, you, Angel, and me," the Doctor forced a smile, "Martha Jones. Just like old times!" as they turned and ran back to the factory.

~8~

The clone stopped the nuclear launch once more, not seeing Angel watching her, panting a bit as they stopped in a hallway of the factory, the Doctor taking out the sonic, attempting to find their way, "Alien technolo…"

"This way," Angel called, leading them down the hallways, not even giving him a chance to finish talking.

"That works too," the Doctor agreed, flipping his sonic and putting it in his coat to follow his Mate.

As the real Martha had once mentioned, between her and, well, anything really, safe betting was always on her.

~8~

UNIT and Sontaran soldiers fired at each other from everywhere.

"The honor of battle!" Skorr shouted joyfully, running into the middle of the fray, "The glory!"

~8~

Angel led the Doctor and the clone down to the basement, to a deserted corridor, "No Sontarans down here," the Doctor observed, "They can't resist a battle."

He watched as Angel moved to a door at the end of the hall, resting her hand on it a moment before nodding, "It's here," she pushed it open and strode in. They found themselves in a clone lab where _Martha Jones_ was lying in a sort of basket device, a metal band around her head, unconscious.

They ran to her, "Ooh, Martha, I'm so sorry," he checked her pulse.

"She's still alive," Angel assured him, putting a hand on his, "As for us..." she glanced past his shoulder and he looked back to see the clone pointing a gun at them.

His hands clenched on the edge of the metal basket, his knuckles turning white as his mouth moved into a near snarl at the sight. But Angel squeezed his hand and he took a breath, he had to be rational about this. This wasn't just any clone. Not only was it a Sontaran clone who would pull the trigger at any moment for the glory of her masters, but a _Martha_ clone. He couldn't just attack her, threaten her, anything really because, despite _knowing_ it was a clone, the idea of hurting _Martha_ upset them and, while he knew it was truly terrible to admit, he would do anything to protect Angel from anyone, even Martha, but he knew hurting the clone without cause would hurt Angel in some small way.

"Are we supposed to be impressed?" he asked, a dark edge in his voice, a warning for the clone to back off, away from his Mate.

"Wish you carried a gun now?" the clone asked, smug.

"Not at all."

"I've been stopping the nuclear launch all this time."

"I know," Angel looked at her.

"Doing exactly what we wanted," the Doctor agreed, "We needed to stop the missiles, just as much as the Sontarans. I'm not having Earth start an interstellar war. You're a triple agent!"

"When did you know?" she frowned as the Doctor stood up to look at her, blocking Angel from her sight and aim as the Time Lady moved over to kneel by Martha's head, gently running her hand through the sleeping girl's hair, comforting her.

"What, you?" the Doctor eyed her, "Oh, right from the start. Angel knew before we even _saw_ you. Psychic," he glanced back at her.

"Thief," she countered, sending him a small smile before she looked back at the metal band on Martha's head.

"But what did it for me," the Doctor turned to the clone once more, "Was the reduced iris contraction, slight thinning of the hair follicles on the left temple. And, frankly, you smell. You might as well have worn a t-shirt saying 'clone.' Although, maybe not in front of Captain Jack. You remember him, don't you? 'Cos you've got all her memories. _That's_ why the Sontarans had to protect her, to keep you inside UNIT. Martha Jones is keeping you alive."

He nodded at Angel who took a breath before pulling the device off Martha's head.

The woman awoke with a gasp and a scream while the clone fell to the ground, grabbing at her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm...what did the Doctor and Angel realize when they saw the Valiant? What about the Master? What did he DO!? :O We'll find out in the very next chapter }:) Lol, I'm so evil :)


	21. The Poison Sky: Sontar? Ha!

The Doctor ran forward as soon as the clone was on her knees, having dropped the gun in the process, and kicked it to the other side of the room, spinning around to see Angel hugging Martha, calming her, "It's alright Martha," Angel rocked her, her hand running through Martha's hair as the human clutched her, her eyes wide in fright, "It's ok, we're here, I've got you, we're here. You're ok now..."

"There was this thing," Martha panted, shaking in Angel's arms, "This alien, with this head..."

"Round and brown?" Angel asked, shifting Martha to face her, her hands on her shoulders, "Like a walking talking baked tomato?"

Martha stared at her a moment, before she had to laugh, "Baked potato."

Angel smiled, "I know," she tapped Martha's nose, "Got you to laugh though."

"Yeah, it did," Martha had to smile back, leave it to Angel to come up with the most random ways to make you smile.

"Feel better?"

She nodded. Just seconds ago she'd been terrified, stuck in a nightmare, and there she was, feeling calmer already, feeling safer. But that was Angel for you, she made everyone feel safe, which, she had to admit, was something anyone travelling with the Doctor desperately needed.

"Good," Angel nodded, turning to put her arm around Martha's shoulders a moment, hugging her from the side as she rubbed her arm.

The Doctor smiled softly at her, ' _You really are wonderfu..._ ' he began...when the mobile rang in his pocket.

"Oh, blimey I'm busy," he remarked, pulling the phone out, pouting a bit as his compliment being cut off, but knowing, from the beam on Angel's face that she knew what he was going to say anyway, the psychic.

' _Thief,_ ' she countered.

He winked at her before answering, "Got it?"

"Yes!" Donna called, "Now hurry up!"

"Take off the covering," he instructed as Angel helped Martha up, "All the blue switches inside, flick them up like a fuse box. And that should get the teleport working."

"Oh, my God," Martha gasped, seeing the clone, backing away from them on the ground, "That's _me_."

~8~

Skorr walked through a corridor of the factory, when Mace came up behind him, "You will face me, sir!"

The Sontaran turned back, pleased for the fight, when Mace simply shot him.

Skoor fell to the ground, dying, but still looking quite happy about it, "Wonderful!" he cheered with his last breath, his eyes drooping closed, knowing he'd died for the glory of his people!

Sontar-ha!

~8~

The Doctor worked on the teleport in the clone lab while Martha and Angel sat beside the clone, Martha wearing the Doctor's jacket over the white hospital-like gown she'd been forced into, "Don't touch me!" the clone glared as Martha reached for her.

"It's not my fault," Martha defended, "The Sontarans created you. But...you had all my memories."

"You've got a brother, sister, mother, and father."

"If you don't help me, they're gonna die."

The clone stared at her a moment, "You love them."

"Yes. Remember that?"

"The gas!" the Doctor yelled from the pod, "Tell us about the gas."

"He's the enemy!" the clone glared, "And so is she!" she spat at Angel.

Angel held up her hands in surrender and got up, moving to join the Doctor, not wanting the clone to grow angrier. She knew Martha was going to try and get the clone to help them, and she knew Martha Jones. When her mind was made up, the only person who stood a chance of talking her out of it was, well, herself. She didn't want to upset the clone to the point where it refused to even hear Martha out just because she was near, and she knew the Doctor would also need some help getting things set to get Donna back. She may not understand the Sontaran tech, but the TARDIS had teleport systems as well, they had to be at least a little similar.

She'd actually found herself being a little better able to help at times if she did that, think of something in regards to a TARDIS. It was like she'd said to the Doctor on that ship crashing into the sun, math in relation to a TARDIS she was fabulous at. If she thought of something or worked on something as though it were just another part of a TARDIS or a different make, a newer model, she found she understood more of it. They were just wires after all, a teleport was a teleport and she was amazing when it came to the TARDIS, according to the Doctor. She knew she was good, she had to be, she'd spent her life around TARDISes and they always seemed pleased with her when she finished with them, but it was nice to have someone else think she was incredible, even if it was in just one area.

' _In everything,_ ' the Doctor corrected in her mind, smiling at her as she knelt beside him and began to help strip some wires, ' _You are absolutely fantastic in every single thing you do Nella_.'

She blushed, ' _Likewise._ '

"Then tell me," Martha began, the two of them able to hear even across the room, "It's not just poison, what's it for? Martha, please!"

"Caesofine concentrate," the clone answered after a moment, "It's one part of Bosteen, two parts Probic 5."

"Clonefeed!" the Doctor realized, "It's clonefeed!"

"What's clonefeed?" Martha asked.

"Like amniotic fluid for Sontarans. That's why they're not invading, they're converting the atmosphere. Changing the planet into a clone world. Earth becomes a great big hatchery. 'Cos the Sontarans are clones, that's how they reproduce," he laughed, seeing Angel grimace at the thought of a Sontaran 'reproducing' in any other way, "Give 'em a planet this big, they'll create _billions_ of new soldiers. That gas isn't poison, it's food!" he turned back to the teleport, excited now.

"My heart..." the clone breathed, "It's getting slower."

Angel looked over sadly, she wanted to help, she really did, the clone had made up for everything by telling them what the gas was, but...without the connection to Martha...the clone couldn't survive. It needed that connection to sustain itself and there was no way to do that without making Martha a prisoner of her own mind again. If they had the TARDIS they could help more, the TARDIS could stabilize the clone, make her a real person, but...the TARDIS was on the Sontaran ship, they were working to get it back down and...she knew they wouldn't have enough time to save the clone.

And that hurt, because she looked just like Martha, no...she _was_ Martha in a way.

"There's nothing I can do," Martha breathed.

"In your mind, you've got so many plans," the clone looked at her, her eyes drooping, "There's so much that you wanna do."

"And I will. Never do tomorrow what you can do today, my mum says. 'Cos..."

"'Cos you never know how long you've got. Martha Jones...all that life," and, with one last breath, the clone's eyes closed for the last time.

Martha eyed her in sorrow before gently reaching out to pull off her engagement ring from the clone's finger and put it back on herself.

"Doctor!" Donna yelled into the phone, Angel having picked it up when she'd finished the wires so that the Doctor could keep working.

"Are you ok Donna?" she asked.

"Blue switches done," Donna said, when the sound of a door sliding open reached her, "But they've found me!"

"Now!" Angel turned to the Doctor.

He pointed the sonic at the teleport pod, activating it. Donna appeared there moments later, still holding the phone to her ear, as stiff and frightened as she had been seeing the Sontarans before her before she blinked and realized where she was. She rushed out and hugged them both close, "Have I ever told you how much I hate you?" Donna breathed.

"You love us," Angel laughed.

Donna sighed, "Yeah I do."

"Hold on, hold on," the Doctor stepped back, "Get off me, get off me!" he pushed Donna back a bit, making her narrow her eyes and purse her lips at him.

"More hugs for me then!" Angel cheered, turning Donna to hug her properly, making her laugh, her irritation at the Doctor rebuffing her hug forgotten.

"Gotta bring the TARDIS down," the Doctor added as an explanation, flashing the sonic at the teleport and the TARDIS was sent back down to the alley, "Right, now. Martha, you coming?"

"What about this nuclear launch thing?" Martha asked as they all stepped into the teleport pod, her and the Time Lords.

"Just keep pressing 'N,' we want to keep those missiles _on_ the ground," the Doctor handed her the PDA the clone had been using.

"But there's..." Donna's eyes widened, seeing the clone, "Two of them."

"Yeah, long story," the Doctor motioned for her to join them, "Here we go. The old team, back together! Well, the new team."

"We're _not_ going back on that ship!" Donna stepped beside them.

"No, no, no. No. I needed to get the teleport working so that we could get to..." they appeared in Luke's cube in the school, "...here! The Rattigan Academy, owned by..."

"Don't tell anyone what I did!" Luke appeared, advancing, pointing a gun at them, "It wasn't my fault, the Sontarans lied to me, they..."

The Doctor stalked forward and grabbed the gun, well, more like ripped it out of Luke's hands, "If I see _one more_ gun..." he threatened the boy, throwing it away. What was with all the humans and aliens pointing a gun at his Mate...and the humans...today? He understood it was the brink of war, but did they really have to point their weapons at _Angel_? What had she done but try to stop it all? Well, he supposed for the Sontarans that was more than enough, but still!

And then he felt someone take his hand and he let out a breath, feeling himself calming instantly and knew who it was without even needing to look, Angel, at his side, as always. He looked down at her as she squeezed his hand. He grinned, lifting it to kiss the back of hers before turning to head out of the room.

"You know, that coat sort of works," Donna remarked to Martha they followed after him.

"Feel like a kid in my dad's clothes," Martha admitted with a blush.

~8~

"A human female onboard ship," a soldier reported to Staal, "It could only be the Doctor's work and all the teleport systems have been deadlocked open."

"No matter," Staal waved him off, "Increase the ATMOS devices to maximum. Choke them! Behold, the cloneworld is born!"

He laughed gleefully as the alarms blared, signalling the massive activation of all the ATMOS to top power.

~8~

Back on Earth, car engines revved, the gas getting in everywhere no matter how well people sealed off their houses. Wilf put a towel in the gap at the bottom of a door, trying to fend the gas off before moving to hug his daughter as she cried on the floor, "Oh, my little girl. Come on, we'll be alright. We'll be alright. Donna said so. She promised. Come on, darling. It's alright."

Mrs. Noble just turned in her father's arms and hugged him, she wanted her daughter there as well, to do just that for her. Everything was falling apart and her daughter was trapped out there when she should be with them, where she could take care of her...

~8~

The Doctor ran around the lab, assembling a device from the random components of Luke's leftover products, "That's why the Sontarans had to stop the missiles, they were holding back," he said quickly, "Because, caesofine gas is _volatile_ , that's why they had to use you to stop the nuclear attack. Ground-to-air engagement could've sparked off the whole thing."

"What, like set fire to the atmosphere?" Martha asked.

"Yeah. They need all the gas intact to breed their clone army. And all the time we had Luke here in his dream factory."

"You were going to use all of this, weren't you Luke?" Angel asked, eyeing the boy.

"They promised me a new world," he murmured glumly.

"You were building equipment, ready to terraform El Mondo Luko so that humans could live there and breathe the air with this!" the Doctor looked at his device appraisingly, "An atmospheric converter."

~8~

"Prepare to launch clone pods," Staal ordered, "We will breed across the surface of the Earth. For the glory of Sontar!"

~8~

The Doctor ran outside with the converter to see London now invisible in the thick, yellow fog, "That's London!" Donna breathed, "You can't even _see_ it. My family's in there."

"If I can get this on the right setting…" the Doctor muttered, fiddling with the device as he placed it on the ground.

"Doctor, hold on, you said the atmosphere would ignite," Martha looked at him.

"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" he grinned at her.

"It'll work Martha," Angel put an arm around her, "Don't worry."

The Doctor pressed a button and a blast of fire flew into the sky, igniting it. He smiled, watching it go, before pulling Angel to him, holding her hand as they watched.

~8~

The Nobles, much like many people across the globe, looked out the window to see the sky on fire.

~8~

"General Staal, sir!" a soldier called.

"What's happening?" Staal demanded.

Alarms blared and they looked down to see the Earth engulfed in flame, and when the fire cleared...the planet was clear as well, blue and green and white and normal.

~8~

The Nobles stepped out of their house to see their neighbors alive and the sky clear, everyone turning to each other, celebrating.

~8~

UNIT cheered as Prince kissed Mace in her relief and excitement, both looking a bit embarrassed when they pulled away.

~8~

"He's a genius!" Luke breathed.

"Just brilliant," Martha agreed.

"Now we're in trouble!" the Doctor said, picking up the converter and running back into the building, Angel frowning a moment before she dashed after him, the others following.

~8~

"It seems we must revert to Basic Sontaran Stratagem One," Staal glared, "We will ravage this planet. Prepare weapons! Wipe them out! Every last stinking human beast!"

~8~

The Doctor stepped inside the teleport pod of Luke's chambers with the converter held tightly in his arms, "Right, so...Donna, thank you. For everything. Martha, you too. Oh...so many times. Luke, do something clever with your life. Angel…" he just blinked back a few tears, unable to come up with the words to speak.

"You're saying goodbye," Donna frowned as Angel looked down...

'… _I am giving you the chance to leave…_ '

"Sontarans are _never_ defeated," the Doctor explained, "They'll be getting ready for war. And, well, you know, I've recalibrated this for Sontaran air, so..."

"You're gonna ignite them," Martha finished.

"You'll _kill_ yourself!" Donna frowned, putting an arm around Angel.

'… _Then do it!_...'

"Just send that thing up on its own," Martha argued, "I don't know...put it on a delay."

"I _can't_ ," he murmured.

"Why not?!" Donna demanded.

'… _Sontar? Ha!_...'

Angel winced, hearing Luke moments before an explosion sounded in her mind.

"I've got to give them a choice," the Doctor said.

"You'll come back," Angel told him, looking up at him though she had tears in her eyes, making the golden flecks stand out and shimmer, "Alive."

He smiled at her, hopeful though doubtful, before pressing the teleport button and disappearing.

Angel fell to her knees.

~8~

The Doctor appeared on the Sontaran ship with the converter, "Oh, excellent!" Staal laughed.

"General Staal, you know what this is," the Doctor placed it down, "But there's one more option. You can go. Just leave. Sontaran High Command need never know what happened here."

"Your stratagem would be wise if Sontarans feared death. But we do not. At arms!"

"I'll do it, Staal," he placed his hand over the button that would ignite it all, "If it saves the Earth, if it saves _Angel_ , I'll do it. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her."

"A warrior doesn't _talk_ , he _acts_!"

"I am giving you the chance to leave."

"And miss the glory of this moment?"

"All weapons targeting Earth, sir," a soldier reported over the speaker, "Firing in 20."

"I'm warning you!" the Doctor shouted.

"And I salute you!" Staal replied, "Take aim!"

"Shoot me, I'm still gonna press this! You'll die, Staal."

"Knowing that you die too."

"Firing in 15," the voice reported.

"For the glory of Sontar!" Staal chanted, "Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha!"

"Sontar-ha!" the soldiers took it up, "Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha!"

"I'll do it!" the Doctor threatened.

"Then do it!" Staal shouted.

~8~

"Angel…" Donna looked at the girl cautiously as she knelt beside the teleport pod, shaking, her hands on the side of it, gripping the edges to tightly her knuckles were turning white.

"What are you doing?" Martha asked.

"Please _don't_ tell him," Angel whispered to them, glancing back at them over her shoulder.

"Tell him _what_?" Donna frowned.

But Angel didn't answer, just turned back to the pod.

Donna, Martha, and Luke's eyes widened as Angel's hands began to glow golden, swirling with energy, the same energy appearing in her eyes as well. They watched as the energy swarmed out of her and into the teleport, right over to the control panel and the teleport pad...

~8~

"Sontar-ha!" the soldiers chanted, "Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha!"

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3…" the voice counted.

The Doctor closed his eyes tightly...

"...1..."

And pushed the button...

Only to disappear a moment later in a crackle of golden energy right as the ship exploded.

~8~

A moment later there was a small burst of golden electricity striking from the top to the bottom of the pod's pad and the Doctor appeared, confused.

Donna and Martha looked at Angel to see the golden energy gone as she half-threw herself into the Doctor's arms before he could even climb out of the box. He held her close as soon as he realized who was in his arms, that he was still alive to feel her in his arms, and buried his face in her hair, nuzzling her neck as he held her tightly. Martha and Donna, far too stunned and relieved to even think of something to say about what had just happened, quickly walked over and joined them, making it a group hug, while Luke sat down heavily, shocked by what had nearly happened and how much was his fault.

~8~

"Morning!" Sylvia called to a neighbor as she walked towards her house with two bags of groceries.

"Morning," the neighbor smiled.

"Walked all the way, won't catch me driving," she added as the neighbor got into her car and pulled off the ATMOS sticker from the rear window. Sylvia entered her house and went to the kitchen to see Donna and Wilf sitting there, "The streets are half-empty. People still aren't driving. There's kids on bikes all over the place, it's _wonderful_. Unpack that lot, I'm gonna see if Suzette's alright," she put the bags on the kitchen counter and turned to leave.

"I won't tell her," Wilf promised Donna, "Best not. Just keep it as our little secret, eh?"

"Yeah," Donna smiled.

"And you go with them, that wonderful Doctor and that remarkable Angel," he added.

Donna had told him what had _really_ happened in the school, how, somehow, Angel had managed to get the Doctor back from the brink of an exploding ship and, to him, if she could do that for the Doctor then she'd be able to do that for Donna as well, keep her safe and all. Donna still had no idea how or what that golden energy was, that energy that had not only saved the Doctor but her gramps as well, but it was far too emotional a scene to start in on the girl about it, Angel had been devastated by what had nearly happened, she'd cried as the Doctor held her and she and Martha couldn't find it in them to bring it up right at that moment. They'd find out, eventually, once things calmed down at least. But, as promised, they hadn't told the Doctor, they'd come up with some story that Luke had hacked into the pod from there and reversed the teleport beam to return the last person teleported out. He seemed to believe it, which Angel seemed thankful for.

"You go and see the stars," Wilf continued, pulling Donna from her thoughts, "And then bring a bit of 'em back, for your old Gramps."

Donna nodded, getting up to hug him, kissing his head, "Love you," she turned and headed out, holding back her tears.

~8~

Angel and the Doctor sat on the examination bed of the TARDIS med-bay, solemn and silent, staring blankly across the room, Angel leaning on the Doctor's shoulder as he had his arm around her tightly, as though afraid to let her go, as though...if he did...she'd just...fade away from him.

"I suppose…" she began, swallowing hard, feeling tears in her eyes as they stared at the results of the scans he'd done on her flashing across a screen before them, "I suppose it's a _good_ thing we didn't finish the Mating process then," she sniffled, "When I…you won't…and…" she quickly wiped a tear away from her eye, though they were still filled with them, she just didn't want him to see her so upset, she knew how upset it made him in return.

The Doctor had done all sorts of tests, wanting to confirm that what the sonic had picked up was correct, praying that it was wrong though, and to test the theory they'd developed when they saw the _Valiant_.

And it was confirmed.

The results were _exactly_ the same as the ones the Master had run on her when she'd first collapsed on the _Valiant_.

Her body was failing in _exactly_ the same way it was during the Year-That-Never-Was.

She was dying...again.

It seemed that, when time snapped back to before the Paradox Machine had been activated, the TARDIS snapped back too, able to maintain the fact that, now, she _hadn't_ been activated. HER body had snapped back as well, but, having been in the eye of the storm and not being an 11-dimensional object, her body hadn't retained that. Just as their minds remembered everything that had happened during that year, so had her body remembered. It reverted back to before the Paradox Machine was activated, but then...continued as though it had during that year, _remembering_ what had happened, remembering that it was...dying.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor blinked back his tears, trying to be strong for her though she could feel his inner turmoil despite that, "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," she told him, squeezing his hand, "Neither of us could see this coming…not even me."

The tests were inconclusive about _one_ thing though, whether or not she would regenerate when her body finally died. Before, when the paradox had been running, they were almost certain she wouldn't…and now…now…with her dying the same way...they were scared.

"We can hope."

"I'll find a way to stop this," he promised her lightly, kissing the side of her head, "I promise you, I will. I _won't_ lose you."

She smiled sadly at him. At this point in time, she had, maybe, a little more than half a year left if she was very lucky. She had thought, once, long ago, that being on the _Valiant_ was better for her dying, would help her live longer without the strain and exertion that came with adventures with the Doctor. But the Master hadn't always been kind to her, he wouldn't let her eat at times, he wouldn't let her rest when she'd been able to manage sleep, he'd stuck her in the cold cells, none of which had helped her last. It was really an even ground now, adventures with the Doctor left her body the same as being on the _Valiant_ did. But she knew, the time she had left, 6 months...around that time on the _Valiant_ was when things started turning bad, and she _knew_ what was coming. The dizziness increased, she didn't eat, she didn't sleep, she felt cold all the time, she was tired, her head hurt, her body hurt, her insides hurt…she just felt sick and feeble…everything she felt now just...MORE.

She _should_ have realized it really, everything, from her lack of being hungry to her headaches to how dizzy she got at times to how easily she tired and how cold she felt...it was _exactly_ how it had started on the _Valiant_. She just...she thought that was _over_ , she truly thought she'd be fine, she hadn't wanted to think, consciously or subconsciously, that she might be dying again. She didn't want to die. She truly _hadn't_ noticed, she'd made up all sorts of excuses and reasons for why she felt that way, blaming it on adventures or worry or the temperature, anything she could, just to keep herself from believing it was happening again and that was just it, wasn't it?

It _was_ happening again.

She looked away, about 6 months left.

There was _one_ regret she had about that. The last step of the Mating process, the physical aspect…more often than not a couple who reached that stage would find themselves with child as a result, such a physical connection of love might lead to a physical manifestation of it, a child. It wasn't _always_ true, actually it was less true than most would think, it was more what people _liked_ to believe, like humans who believed most brides returned home pregnant from their honeymoons. Her mother hadn't conceived the first time, though she wasn't Mated to her father, still, her mother had had _several_ difficult pregnancies before she had had HER. Her sister though, HAD conceived upon Mating...she'd lost the baby. She'd lost three before her only child had been born. And now...she couldn't even risk it. She couldn't risk conceiving. And as a result...they couldn't even finish the process, with a gestation period of 3 years, the baby would die with her and wouldn't be able to survive even if it was somehow removed from her. Given the way her body had failed on the _Valiant_ , her body wouldn't even be able to suport a child, or having a child growing inside her might kill her faster.

She hadn't thought of it much on Gallifrey, of having children. In the back of her mind she supposed she thought it might be nice to have at least one child before her life ended and that was before the War when she thought she'd have millennia to go…she hadn't even really thought about it even now with the Doctor. But...just because it hadn't been an active thought or even a desire...to have _all possibility_ striped away. To know she might NEVER have a child, might never be able to give the Doctor the family she knew he wanted...it _hurt_. It hurt her more than she thought it would. To have that hope torn away. The saying was true, you never knew how special something was till it was gone. Now it didn't seem like she would ever have a child.

She supposed it was almost a good thing to _not_ have finished the Mating, to have put it off like they had, but for another reason, the one silver lining in it all. Once the Mating process was finished, when one Mate died, the other did as well. At any point before the physical union, a Mate would, at the very least, miss the other in their mind or at the most suffer a terrible heartsbreak over the closeness they once had, entirely _survivable_. Once the Mating was finished though, there was _no_ going back. She knew the Doctor could try to convince her to Mate, to finish it, saying there was no guarantee of a child, and wanting to Mate to her before she died, because he wouldn't want to lose her without finishing it. But she'd refuse, she knew how his mind worked, in the _very_ back of it he was terrified of being alone again, of losing her and being the last, he'd want to Mate as a sort of...suicide, to die _with_ her, to use her words as Angela Smith against her, that whatever they did they did together.

It had been one reason he'd gone to the Sontarans, a foolish, stupid, dangerous thing to do, but everything had hit him at that moment, as much as he tried to keep it from coming to mind, it hit him that he'd saved _the Earth_ but wouldn't be able to save _her_. He'd snapped, just a little, and gone to the Sontarans because, if she was dying, he might as well die too.

But she would be damned if she let the Doctor die because of her, she would NOT let that happen, no matter what.

"Come on," she got up, subtly telling him that her answer to his idea of continuing the Mating, his desperate idea, was NOT going to be accepted, "We need to say goodbye to Martha."

"Angel…" he began, shaking his head.

"I just want to go on as normally as possible. For as _long_ as possible. I spent a year with little else to do but think about how I was dying, I _don't_ want to do that again. I just want to…to go on adventures and be with you for as long as I can. Please Theta, I just...if I get to choose how I spend my last moments, they're with you, always. But I don't want to spend them constantly thinking about how they're my last," she squeezed his hand, trying to smile, "Come on Theta, show me the stars and make me forget."

He swallowed hard, standing and pulling her to him, hugging her tightly, his hearts breaking, but swearing to himself, he'd show her every single one and save her in the process.

And if he couldn't...he'd make sure no one saved him either.

~8~

Donna entered the TARDIS to see Martha standing by the console, eyeing the Doctor and Angel with concern. The Doctor seemed solemn and despondent while Angel appeared to be trying to focus on the controls, her lips in a line and not smiling like they always saw her doing.

"How were they?" Martha turned to the ginger as she entered.

"Oh, same old stuff," she gave a small smile as she brushed away a tear, "They're fine. So! You gonna come with us? We're not exactly short of space."

"Oh, I have missed all this, but, you know. I'm good here. Back at home. And I'm better for having been away. Besides," she wiggled her left hand fingers, " _S_ omeone needs me. Never mind the Universe, I've got a great big world of my own now!" she laughed and walked towards the doors...

When they slammed closed and the TARDIS jerked wildly, flying off.

Everyone clung to different objects, the console, the railings, the captain's chair, trying to keep their balance, while the Doctor's hand wiggled in the jar below the console.

"What?" the Doctor yelled, "What!?"

"Doctor, don't you dare!" Martha glared at him.

"No, no, no!" he shook his head, struggling to get to the controls where Angel had managed to grab on near the monitor, "I didn't touch anything!"

"We're in flight," Angel agreed, "But we're not the ones piloting her!"

"Where are we going?" Donna called.

"I don't know, it's out of control!" the Doctor yelled.

"Where are we going girl?" Angel looked up at the rotor.

"Just listen to me!" Martha shouted, "You take me home, take me home right now!"

But the TARDIS just continued to jerk and thrash as she flew on...

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BAM! O.M.G! Angel's DYING!? O.O Did you see THAT coming?! }:D ...that there to the left is a very evil, madly cackling smirk :)
> 
> I truly can't imagine a worse fate than to watch someone you love slowly dying and there being nothing you can do about it. I've experienced it myself with my grandmother, the woman I dedicated this saga to, and I could truly see this being torture for the Doctor especially, since his whole thing is being a doctor and making people better, and now…he can't and it's his MATE whose life is just...fading away... :(


	22. The Doctor's Daughter: The Separation

The TARDIS shook violently as the people within grabbed the console, trying to keep stable as it flew through the Vortex. They shook and lurched and jolted every possible way while the Doctor and Angel tried to regain control, well, Angel tried to regain control, the Doctor was just trying to regain his footing enough to make his way to Angel. This shaking, all this turbulence, it wouldn't be good for her. He'd sworn to himself, calm trips from now on despite Angel's insistence to go on as normally as possible. He was NOT going to send them anywhere dangerous, anywhere that she might overexert herself and fade faster. No, he would NOT let that happen!

And now this?!

He didn't understand it, the TARDIS had always loved Angel, he could tell by how the box seemed to always respond to her and listen to her and protect her. They'd worked out ages ago that the reason she hadn't been taken by the transmat on the Game Station had been because the TARDIS had been protecting her, had pulled her back into the box. Of course, the old box _would_ save her and not him, but he was happy about that. He wanted Angel to be safe and protected and he couldn't begin to say how relieved he was to know the TARDIS cared for her that much, well, he knew the box would, that it would have to since Angel was a Pilot, but the transmat had been BEFORE she'd bonded to the TARDIS. That _had_ to mean the box cared for the Time Lady, so why was it doing this now? Angel didn't need this!

"What the hell's it doing?" Donna shouted.

"Controls aren't working!" the Doctor yelled, trying again to reach Angel at the console, when the controls sparked and he fell back to the floor, seeing his hand bubbling excitedly, "I don't know where we're going but my old hand's _very_ excited about it!"

"I thought that was just some freaky alien thing! You telling me it's _yours_?"

"Well..."

"It got cut off," Martha told her, "He grew a new one!"

"You are completely...impossible!" Donna gasped.

"Not impossible, just...a bit unlikely!" he remarked.

"It's alright," they heard Angel say softly despite the noise. They looked over to see her stroking the rotor gently, "Calm down girl, it's alright, everything's ok…" and, amazingly, the TARDIS seemed to listen, slowing to a screeching halt, making everyone but Angel fall backwards.

The Doctor fell back onto the captain's chair before jumping up and running over to Angel, taking her head in his hands, looking her over, making sure she was alright, about an inch away from scanning her with the sonic when she lightly slapped his hands down.

' _Stop it,_ ' she said quietly in his mind, ' _Scanning me will only make them wonder why and I don't want them to know,_ ' she glanced at Donna and Martha, ' _Not just yet. I don't want them to worry._ '

' _We have to tell them Angel,_ ' he nudged her, but put the sonic away. They were his companions, her family, they had a right to know.

' _We will,_ ' she nodded, ' _But let's deal with whatever's out there first and then tell them, ok?_ '

He sighed, but nodded as well.

"How the bloody hell did you do that?!" Donna panted as she and Martha picked themselves up.

"This isn't the first tantrum I've dealt with from TARDISes," Angel shrugged, though catching her breath as well.

And boy did she have plenty of experience with that. Some of the younger TARDISes, the newly grown, freshly harvested ones, were just like children, screaming and irritated and pouty, or at least that was the sense she got from them. They always fought her sister and father tooth and nail not to be touched or poked or prodded or adapted to becoming a true TARDIS, but then again, her father and sister had never had the most patience with the wonderful creations that were TARDISes. They, she was sorry to admit, treated them like the machines many Time Lords thought they were, while she had always respected them and treasured them as living creatures and tried to ease them and calm them whenever they were being difficult. Most Time Lords forgot they were grown and not built, adapted from living organisms to become the time travel units they were. And most Time Lords treated them like that, to the point where that's all the TARDIS became, a machine.

That was one thing she loved about the Doctor, he treated the TARDIS like the most incredible thing in the Universe, which she really was. He respected the box, talked to her, cherished her like it was a living thing, and he insisted it was. Which, the TARDIS was, alive that is. He saw the TARDIS for what she was, living, and that meant so much not just to _her_ , but to the TARDIS as well. She knew the box loved the Doctor for that as well, not as much as SHE loved him though.

The Doctor took her hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it, hearing her thoughts, before he led her to the door, looking out to see that they were in a tunnel of some sort, probably underground, completely filled with rubbish of all kinds, "Why would the TARDIS bring us here?" he frowned as Martha and Donna stepped out.

"Oh, I love this bit," Martha smiled.

"Thought you wanted to go home," Donna smirked.

"I know, but all the same..." she shook her head as the Doctor looked around at the equipment before licking his finger and looking into the distance as Angel looked around, "It's that feeling you get..."

"Like you swallowed a hamster?"

"Something's coming," Angel said, frowning as she looked down one tunnel in particular.

"What?" the Doctor asked, tensing, not sure if it was a good, friendly something, or a bad, 'wants to hurt his Mate' something. Well, hurt her and his companions, but that was just how his mind worked, where it went first and foremost, to Angel and her safety, even more so now that her health was on the line as well.

Just then there was a loud bang down the tunnel Angel was looking through when soldiers ran forward, "Don't move, stay where you are!" one ordered as they aimed their guns at the group who raised their arms quickly, "Drop your weapons."

"We're not armed!" the Doctor said, stepping before Angel to block her, his mind even more aware and driven to protect her with her failing health, because there were people with guns with his Mate in the same room, again, "Look, no weapons. Never any weapons. We're safe."

"Look at their hands," a second soldier noted, "They're clean."

"Alright, process them!" the first young man gave the command, "Him first."

Two soldiers moved their guns and reached out for the Doctor, shoving him away from the women, over to a box with a hole in it, "Oi, oi!" he called, "What's wrong with clean hands?!"

"What's going on?" Martha demanded.

"Leave him alone!" Donna glared as she and Angel ran after them.

They stuck the Doctor's hand into the hole in the machine, making him yell in pain as it whizzed away, "Something tells me this isn't about to check my blood press…AAGGGH!"

"What's it doing to him?" Angel frowned, her hearts racing at seeing him in pain but not knowing what it was doing and being unable to help.

"Everyone gets processed," the young man stated.

"It's taken a tissue sample," the Doctor explained, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! And extrapolated it! Some kind of accelerator?"

The machine finally let him go and he stepped back, examining his hand were a Y-shaped graze was on the back of it. Angel, Donna, and Martha ran to him as he looked at the large machine near the back of the box.

"Are you alright?" Martha asked, examining the graze.

Angel lifted his hand and pressed a small kiss to it, hoping it would make him feel better...

' _Always,_ ' the Doctor offered her a smile, kissing her hair in thanks for her kindness. A kiss might not literally make his hand feel better, but any kiss from Angel always made HIM feel loads better.

She smiled in return before she heard the machine hiss and looked back at it, the Doctor and Donna as well.

"What on Earth?" the Doctor frowned as the doors opened, "That's just..."

A young blonde woman with blue eyes stepped out from the machine, smoke wafting around her, dressed in a short sleeved green shirt and dark pants. The quartet looked at her in shock as she looked around, so curious to everything around her.

"Arm yourself!" the young man shouted, handing the woman a gun which she handled easily.

"Where did _she_ come from?" Martha eyed her.

"From the Doctor," Angel whispered, looking at the woman as she readied the gun.

The Doctor blinked, completely shocked at that.

"From you?!" Donna looked at the Doctor, "How? Who is she?"

"Well...she's...well...she's my daughter…" he stared, swallowing hard, trying to ignore, trying to bury, trying to _block_ , the bonds he could already feel forming in his mind and soul to the young woman before them.

No!

He wouldn't let this happen, this girl, she was NOT his daughter, because...because she wasn't Angel's. She couldn't be his and he refused to let her be.

The blonde turned to him, smiling, "Hello dad!"

"You primed to take orders, ready to fight?" the young man questioned.

"Instant mental download of all strategic and military protocols, sir," she gave a nod, "Generation 5,000 soldier primed and in peak physical health. Oh, I'm ready."

"Did you say... _daughter_?" Donna repeated.

"Mmm," he hummed, before shaking his head, " _Technically_."

Technically, not _actually_ , not really, she couldn't be. She wasn't Angel's daughter too. She wasn't his daughter. She wasn't!

"Technically _how_?" Martha shook her head.

"Progenation. Reproduction from a single organism. Means one parent is biological mother and father. You take a sample of diploid cells, split them into haploids, then recombine them in a different arrangement, and grow. Very quickly, apparently."

"Something's coming!" the woman warned as soldiers with purple fish heads and green liquid tubes by their mouths ran in, guns blazing. The Doctor and Donna ducked behind a small wall, the Doctor reaching out for Angel, but she had already grabbed Martha and pulled her to hide behind a crate.

"It's the Hath!" the young man yelled as the human soldiers shot back.

"Get down!" the woman called.

"We have to blow the tunnel! Get the detonator!"

"I'm not detonating anything!" the Doctor shouted.

Just then a Hath appeared behind Martha and Angel, grabbing their arms and pulling them back while the young woman kicked a Hath and picked up the detonator.

"Blow that thing, blow the thing!" she was ordered by the young man.

"Doctor!" Angel yelled.

"Angel!" the Doctor shouted, seeing them being pulled back, "Martha! No! Don't!" he ran to the woman's side, trying to stop her, needing to stop her, only for her to hit the button.

Donna ran out and grabbed his arm to keep him from running after Angel, right towards the bomb, and pulled him back, forcing him to run for cover as the tunnel exploded. But he was on his feet in an instant, staring at the tunnel, sealed by rubble, Angel and Martha trapped on the other side.

"You've sealed off the tunnel!" he ran to it, banging on the wall, before turning around to glare at his supposed daughter, "Why did you _do_ that?!"

"They were trying to _kill_ us!" she reminded him.

"But they've got my Mate!"

"Collateral damage. At least you've still got her," she jerked a thumb at Donna, "He lost _both_ his men. I'd say you came out ahead."

"Their names were Angel, my sister, and Martha," Donna cut in with a glare, "And they're _not_ collateral damage, not for anyone! Have you got that, GI Jane?!"

"I'm gonna find them," the Doctor turned to the wall.

The young man just pointed a gun at them, "You're going nowhere. You don't make sense, you two. No guns, no marks, no fight in you…I'm taking you to General Cobb. Now, move."

The Doctor just turned to him, his shoulders squared, body tense, a dark look on his face. Here was a human, a miserable human, holding a gun at HIM? Ordering him to give up on his _Mate_? That was never ever gonna happen.

He took a single step towards the boy, the boy actually stepping back in fear of the dangerous glint in the man's eye when...

' _Don't,_ ' Angel's voice called in his mind, making him stop in his tracks, ' _Theta don't. I'm fine._ '

' _But they're the reason you..._ '

' _I'm only trapped on the other side of a wall,_ ' she reminded him, ' _I've got Martha, and I trust you remember? I know you'll find me, you'll save me. But I don't want you to get hurt trying to do it._ '

' _And that's just it! You're trapped, away from me and..._ '

' _And Martha will protect me, just like I'll protect her. We'll watch out for each other._ '

' _But the Hath..._ '

' _I'll be ok,_ ' she cut in, ' _I can feel it Theta, the Hath mean as much harm as the humans do. They won't hurt us, they won't hurt me. Please, trust me, I've learned an awful lot from my brilliant Mate,_ ' he had to smile at that, ' _I will be just fine till I get to see you again._ '

He let out a breath, closing his eyes, shaking his head, he really didn't like this but... ' _You promise?_ '

' _Cross my hearts,_ ' she laughed and he could imagine her crossing them in his mind, ' _I'll see you soon._ '

 _'Yes you will,_ ' this time it was HIS turn to promise her.

' _Go with them and just...stay calm,_ ' she added, ' _Everything will be alright._ '

~8~

"Martha?" a soft voice called.

Martha blinked blearily, slowly waking up to find herself lying in the middle of debris, Angel kneeling beside her, an injured Hath a few feet away.

"Angel!" she gasped, sitting up and hugging her friend, before quickly checking her over for injury, she seemed fine but she still had to ask, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but _he_ could use some help," she nodded at the Hath that was struggling to sit up, gripping its arm.

Martha turned and made her way over to it, "Hold on, I've got you, is it your arm, yeah?" the Hath gurgled, "Is that a yes?"

"It's a yes," Angel translated, seeing Martha having trouble understanding the Hath through the bubbling of that tube, "He says he can't feel it."

Martha nodded, "Let me examine it. Keep still. Still, yeah? No move!" the Hath nodded, "Half-fish, half-human, how'm I supposed to know? Is that a shoulder?" she gestured to the area for Angel to look at, "Feels like a shoulder! I think it's dislocated..."

"I don't know," Angel shook her head sadly, "Alien languages I was fair in…physiology, not so much."

Martha nodded and reached for the Hath when more of them marched in and pointed guns at them.

Angel quickly stood, closing her eyes a moment as a wave of dizziness hit her, before she shook her head, holding her hands up to the Hath and trying a tactic the Doctor seemed to love doing, "Wait!" she called, hoping they might just do that...and, oddly enough, they did. She let out a breath of relief at that, "She's helping him," she promised, "I swear," and crossed her hearts as well, "She's a doctor," she gestured at Martha.

"Right, yes," Martha nodded, "I am, and he is my patient, and I'm not leaving him! Now," she looked back at the Hath before her, "This is gonna hurt. One, two, three!" she snapped the shoulder back into place as the Hath cocked their guns, assuming she'd hurt one of them.

The injured Hath quickly held up his hands for them to wait and explained to them.

"He's telling them you really _were_ helping," Angel whispered to Martha as she moved to kneel beside her, the two of them watching the Hath talk, "That his arm feels much better. And that you're a physician."

The armed Hath lowered their guns.

"Now, then," Martha nodded as she looked at them, "I'm Dr. Martha Jones and this is the Angel. Who the hell are you?"

The injured Hath raised hits hand, the liquid bubbling as he spoke.

Martha looked at Angel, "He says his name is Peck."

~8~

The young man and woman led the Doctor and Donna through the tunnels. The Doctor could sense Angel, both of them keeping an open communication for safety, letting the other hear everything that was being said. At least he knew Angel and Martha were safe, even with the Hath, for now. And he trusted Martha, as much as he could trust a human, to keep Angel safe. He'd seen the two girls bond and grow closer during their travels, if it hadn't been for Angel, Martha wouldn't have become his companion, something Martha seemed to have worked out herself. He knew Martha would do her best to protect Angel and, given that the Hath weren't attacking them, he hoped it meant they wouldn't attack them in the future either. Angel had promised she'd be ok though and, despite not liking not being there with her, to protect her himself, he trusted her intuition.

He didn't like it, he wasn't happy about it, but it calmed him enough that he could focus more clearly on getting back to her.

"I'm Donna, what's your name?" Donna introduced herself to the young woman, if just for conversation.

She didn't like the girl for what she'd inadvertently done, trapped Angel, but...Angel was always so kind to people, even those trying to kill them she recalled, like when the girl had spoken to the Sontarans, and Angel was one of the best people she knew, and she as always saying how SHE was brilliant too. It made her want to be a better person so, she thought, why not start with the Doctor's daughter. Of all people, Angel would certainly forgive the girl for what she'd done.

"Don't know, it's not been assigned," she stated.

"Well, if you don't know that, what do you know?"

"How to fight."

"Nothing else?"

"The machine must embed military history and tactics but no name," the Doctor explained, not looking at Jenny, forcing himself not to look at her, each time he did he felt a little bit of himself attach to her, to the idea she was his daughter, and he didn't want that, he would not accept a child that wasn't Angel's, "She's a generated anomaly."

"Generated anomaly?" Donna said, trying out the word, "Jenny-rated. Well what about that? Jenny!"

"Jenny," she nodded, smiling, "Yeah, I like that, Jenny."

"What do you think, 'dad?'" Donna teased.

"Good as anything, I suppose," he sighed, a bit distracted by his desire to return to Angel and make sure she was alright. Not to mention, the thought of a child of his existing, not related to Angel…it made his hearts hurt.

"Not what you'd call a natural parent, are you?"

"They stole a tissue sample at gunpoint and processed it, it's not what I call natural parentage," he closed his eyes tightly, an image flashing through his mind of just what natural parentage would be like, imagining the end of the Mating, imagining Angel pregnant, imagining holding her hand as she gave birth, him holding a beautiful little girl in his arms, his daughter, his little girl...

He opened his eyes and shook his head, the little girl in his imagination had been blonde, like Jenny. No, he wanted a little ginger girl, or boy, actually, it didn't matter the hair color as long as it was happy and healthy and just like its mother. And that could never be because Angel was...

He shook his head again, no, he wasn't going to think about it, it _wouldn't_ happen, he'd stop it.

He had to.

"Rubbish!" Donna laughed, oblivious to his inner turmoil, "My friend Nerys fathered twins with a turkey baster, don't bother her."

"You can't extrapolate a relationship from a biological accident."

You couldn't, _he_ couldn't, he couldn't let himself.

"Er, Child Support Agency can."

"Look, just 'cos I share certain physiological traits with simian primates doesn't make me a monkey's uncle, does it?"

"I'm not a monkey!" Jenny huffed, "Or a child."

The Doctor didn't even look at her, doing his best really to NOT look at her at all, as they reached the human base, a huge underground theater where a large progenation machine was stationed along the side, "So, where are we?" the Doctor asked, "What planet's this?"

"Messaline," the young man said, heading off across the room, "Well, what's left of it."

"...663-75 deceased," came over the speakers, "Generation 6671-Extinct. Generation 6672-46 deceased. Generation 6680-14 deceased. Generation..."

"But...this is a theater!" Donna frowned at the room.

"Maybe they're doing _Miss Saigon_ ," the Doctor remarked.

"It's like a town, or a city, underground. But why?"

Just then the young man led an older soldier over to them, "General Cobb, I presume?" the Doctor eyed the man.

"Found in the Western tunnels," he nodded, "I'm told, with no marks. There was an outbreak of pacifism in the Eastern Zone, three generations back, before we lost contact, is that where you came from?"

"Eastern Zone, that's us, yeah. Yeah. I'm The Doctor, this is Donna."

"And I'm Jenny," Jenny smiled.

"Don't think you can infect us with your peacemaking," Cobb frowned, "We're committed to the fight, to the very end."

"Well, that's alright," he nodded, "I can't stay anyway. I've gotta go and find my Mate and my friend."

"That's not possible, all movement is regulated. We're at war."

"Yes, I noticed. With the Hath. But tell me, 'cos we got a bit out of circulation, Eastern Zone and all that, so, who exactly are the Hath?"

~8~

The Hath led Martha and Angel into their base, a dark room with a progenation machine along the side, much like the one Angel had seen in the Doctor's mind of the human camp. All the Hath looked over, delighted to meet what seemed like friendly humans and gathered around the two, petting their heads, making Angel laugh, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

~8~

"Back at the dawn of this planet, these ancient halls were carved from the earth," Cobb explained as they all stood before a 3D diagram of the base, "Our ancestors dreamt of a new beginning, a colony where human and Hath could work and live together."

"So what happened?" the Doctor asked.

"The dream died. Broken, along with Hath promises. They wanted it all for themselves. But those early pioneers, they fought back. They used the machines to produce soldiers instead of colonists and began this battle for survival."

"There's nothing but earth outside, why's that?" Donna looked at the window, "Why build everything underground?"

"The surface is too dangerous," the young man stated.

"Well, then why build windows in the first place? And what does this mean?" she pointed at a line of numbers carved into the wall, 60120717.

"The rites and symbols of our ancestors," Cobb gave a proud smile, "The meanings...lost in time."

"How long's this war gone on for?" the Doctor turned back to Cobb.

"Longer than anyone can remember. Countless generations marked only by the dead."

"What, fighting all this time?" Donna shook her head.

"Because we must," Jenny added, "Every child of the machine is born with this knowledge. It's our inheritance, it's all we know. How to fight. And how to die."

The Doctor turned to look intently at the map, that just proved it. The girl was _nothing_ like Angel or what her daughter would be, her daughter wouldn't know fighting and death, but love and life. Angel's daughter would be so full of life and happiness. She wouldn't hurt you, but help you, hug you. He swallowed hard, a phantom sensation of being hugged by a little girl striking him, and closed his eyes, family was the most important thing to him. Angel was his family, had become his family, was meant to be his family, and, yes, he'd hoped, one day to see their little family grow.

And now it didn't seem like it would.

And now...he was going to lose the only family he had left.

~8~

The Hath showed Martha and Angel a holographic map of the base, gurgling away as they spoke, Martha looking to Angel for help understanding them, "He's telling us this is where we are," Angel translated.

Martha frowned, looking at the map a moment, at a small red blinking dot, before pointing, "Right…so we're here?"

~8~

The Doctor looked at the map closely, "Does this show the entire city, including the Hath zones?"

"Yes," Cobb replied, "Why?"

"Well it'll help us find Angel and Martha."

"We've more important things to do," the young man glared, "The progenation machines are powered down for the night shift, but soon as they're active, we could breed a whole platoon from you two."

"I'm not having sons and daughters by some great big flippin' machine!" Donna glared, before wincing and sending Jenny a sorry look, "Sorry, no offence but you're not...well I mean you're not real."

"You're no better than him!" Jenny exclaimed, "I have a body, I have a mind, I have independent thought, how am I not real? What makes you better than me? What makes you so superior? That's a rubbish word, superior, who are you to decide that?!"

The Doctor looked at her sharply, those words, were SO similar to what Angel had once said as a human...

No! He looked back at the map, no Jenny was NOT like Angel. She wasn't the sort of daughter she'd have, and therefore, not the daughter HE'D have either because any child of his would be Angel's as well.

"Well said, soldier," Cobb smiled, "We need more like you if ever we're to find the Source."

"Ooh, the Source, what's that then, what's a Source?" the Doctor grinned, thanking the stars for the distraction from his thoughts, "I like a Source, what is it?"

"The Breath of Life."

"And that would be..."

"In the beginning the Great One breathed life into the Universe," the young man retold, "And then she looked at what she'd done, and she sighed."

"She?" Jenny smiled, "I like that."

"Right, so it's a creation myth," the Doctor guessed, distracted by something on the map.

"It's not _myth_ ," Cobb insisted, "It's _real_. That sigh. From the beginning of time it was caught and kept as the Source. It was lost when the war started. But it's here, somewhere. Whoever holds the Source controls the destiny of the planet."

"Ah!" the Doctor cried, "I thought so! There's a suppressed layer of information in this map, if I can just…" he soniced the map and another set of tunnels appeared.

"What is it, what's it mean?" Donna frowned.

"See?" the Doctor smiled, "A whole complex of tunnels, hidden from sight."

~8~

Martha blinked as a new set of tunnels appeared on the Hath's map. "Hold on, look!"

Angel smiled, "The Doctor did that."

~8~

"That must be the lost temple," Cobb pointed to a spot, "The Source will be inside. You've shown us the way! And look, we're closer than the Hath! It's _ours_!"

~8~

"That's a new map," Martha smiled, "There's a different set of tunnels!"

~8~

"Tell them to prepare to move out," Cobb ordered the young man, "We'll progenate new soldiers on the morning shift, then we march. Once we reach the Temple, peace will be restored at long last."

"Um, call me old-fashioned, but if you really wanted peace couldn't you just stop fighting?" the Doctor asked.

"Only when we have the Source. It'll give us the power to erase every stinking Hath from the face of this planet!"

"Hang on, hang on, a second ago it was peace in our time, now you're talking about genocide!?"

"For us, that means the same thing."

"Then you need to get yourself a better dictionary. When you do, look up genocide. You'll see a little picture of me and my Mate there and the caption will read 'Over our dead bodies!'"

And then he winced, realizing what he'd said.

"And you're the one who showed us the path to victory. But you can consider the irony from your prison cell. Cline," he smirked at the young man, "At arms!" Cline immediately lifted his gun.

"Oi, oi, oi!" Donna shouted, "Alright! Cool the beans Rambo!"

"Take them, I won't have them spreading treason. And if you try anything, Doctor, I'll see that your woman dies first."

"No, we're...we're not a couple!" the Doctor snapped.

"I am not his woman!" Donna agreed, this was getting a little ridiculous now how people kept assuming SHE and the Doctor were together. She knew she and Angel were both gingers, but really!

"Come on," Cline jerked his gun, "This way."

"I'm going to stop you, Cobb," the Doctor looked at the man, he didn't have to have Angel's abilities to know that, "You need to know that."

"I have an army and the breath of God on my side, Doctor, what'll you have?"

"This," the Doctor pointed to his head.

"Lock them up, and guard them."

"What about the new soldier?" Cline eyed Jenny as she stepped up.

Cobb turned her away, into the Doctor's arms, "Can't trust her, she's from pacifist stock. Take them all!"

~8~

The Hath waved their guns in the air, celebrating and patting Martha on the back.

"But I didn't do anything!" Martha defended.

"It was my Mate," Angel told them, "Our friend, the Doctor."

The Hath just continued to wave their guns in the air happily.

"I think he just started a war," Martha remarked lightly to Angel as the ginger rubbed her head.

Angel shifted, crossing her other arm over her stomach, she had a terrible feeling that this, all of it...it wasn't going to be easy and she knew, it wouldn't end well for all of them.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't done this in a story before, having the Time Lady separated from the group instead of with the Doctor :) But we're gonna see a bit more of Angel being the hero this time as a result :) Can anyone guess why the TARDIS might have taken them there this time? It's still slightly a paradox, but now she had a reason also :)
> 
> And...the Torchwood Crossover episode will take place RIGHT AFTER this one! Angel's going to need her brother when she loses Jenny won't she? :( ...or will she lose Jenny? I can say, yes, she will, but it may not be in a way you expect }:)


	23. The Doctor's Daughter: The Journey

The Doctor, Donna, and Jenny entered the cell, well, were shoved in really, Donna immediately noticing the numbers printed on the walls there as well, 60120716 this time, "More numbers. They've gotta mean something."

"Makes as much sense as the 'breath of life' story," the Doctor grumbled, falling, with a huff, onto small cot, rubbing his face wearily. He was really starting to not like this even more.

Not only was Angel trapped, ill, with other aliens (that had guns he should add), but with aliens who were the supposed enemies of the humans (who also had guns!), and were now at war with each other. The humans were about to march out to face the Hath, Angel was _with_ the Hath, which meant Angel would be a target. Even if the humans tried to avoid killing other humans, they would still be firing at the Hath...where Angel was. He didn't like this at all, he should be there, he should be with her, HE should be the one protecting her.

And he was failing.

Miserably.

What a Mate he was, wasn't he? He not only lost his Mate and trapped her on the other side of a collapsed tunnel, but he hadn't been able to stop the Master from launching the Paradox Machine, which made her ill in the first place and was still the cause of her dying now! How could she still have so much faith in him when all he did was put her in danger and lead to her death. Yes, this wasn't the first time she'd died because of him. HE was the one who let the Dalek out of the museum after sealing it in with Rose...and she'd gotten shot and regenerated. HE was the one who had wanted to stay and try to stop the Daleks on the Game Station, forcing her to take in the Heart of the TARDIS and nearly die. HE was the one who had gone down into the Pit, forcing Angel to take in the Heart of the TARDIS again to save him, and she really _did_ die that time and regenerate. And HE was the one who had failed to stop the Paradox Machine and she was dying again, but this time...no regeneration. All he ever did was cause her pain and bring her death, how could she even still lov...

' _If you finish that thought Theta,_ ' Angel's voice cut into his mind, ' _I will NEVER let you into Gingers United, even if you become one._ '

He had to smile at that, laughing a bit to himself, leave it to her for THAT to be his punishment. Angel wouldn't ever hit him for thinking something like that, or threaten to not kiss him, or leave him (as she would probably guess that was what he wanted, to protect her, even though it would kill him for her to do it), so she'd been left with the only other thing...his hair. That was one thing he loved about her, at the most random times, in the most random ways, with the most random words...she could make him smile.

No matter how depressed he grew or how full of self-loathing, she just...knew...how to make him feel better, how to get him to smile and laugh again.

' _I love you,_ ' Angel continued, _'And I trust you because I_ know _you, you never ever give up, not on anyone, not on me. You protect me, you always protect me but Theta there are things neither of us will see coming and all we can do is be there for each other when they happen. This wasn't your fault, what's happening to me, it was the Paradox Machine, it was the Master, it's even MY fault and..._ '

' _How is you dying YOUR fault?_ ' he frowned.

' _It was MY connection to the TARDIS that did it,_ ' she explained, ' _If I wasn't so connected to her, for whatever reason, I wouldn't have gotten ill like she did. I would have been fine. So, either you blame someone else, like...me, or you stop blaming yourself. Who will it be?_ '

He shook his head, she always said she wasn't clever and there she was, getting the best of him, ' _It was no one's fault,_ ' he replied.

' _Good,_ ' he could almost feel her nod, ' _Now, stop with the frowning face, that only works on your fifth self,_ ' he let out a little laugh at that, she'd LOVED his fifth self's frowning face, ' _And remember, you're the Doctor, focus on that,_ ' he nodded at that, yes, yes he was the Doctor, _'And..._ ' she mentally nudged him, ' _You never lie to me, you promised I'd see you again, and I will._ '

' _Yes you will,_ ' he agreed, ' _And when you do, I'm going to kiss you till you're breathless._ '

' _You don't have to kiss me to do that,_ ' she told him, ' _Just you looking at me, or being near me, or me thinking of you, always leaves me breathless._ '

He smiled at that, God did he love her.

"You mean that's not true?" Jenny looked at him, pulling him out of his thoughts and silent conversation.

"No, it's a myth," Donna nodded, going to sit down beside him, not trusting him to be by himself anywhere, he must be smarting from not having Angel there and, well, she was a ginger, one half of Gingers United, they stuck together, Angel was always there for her, she'd be there for the Doctor for Angel, "Isn't it, Doctor?"

"Yes, but there could still be something real in that temple, something that's become a myth," he sighed, trying to make himself focus on this and not how much more he missed Angel after the moment they'd shared, "A piece of technology, a weapon."

"So the Source could be a weapon and we've just given directions to Captain Nutjob?"

"Oh, yes."

Donna tensed, her mind also going to Angel (and Martha) being out there where the humans and their insane captain could hurt them, "Not good, is it?"

"That's why we need to get out of here, find Angel and Martha, and stop Cobb from slaughtering the Hath," the Doctor determined, before seeing Jenny looking at him with a smile, "What, what are you...what are you...what are you staring at?"

He didn't like it, he didn't like her looking at him. He could always feel when people looked at him, despite having gotten so used to people staring at him, but it always made him look up to see who it was. He didn't want to look up, he didn't want to look at Jenny, the more he did, the more he started to think of her as a person, a proper person, and not just a result of that machine. And he couldn't let that happen, he couldn't let himself accept her, she was like the Anti-Angel, all war and combat and weapons while Angel was so peaceful and hugging and words...but, then again, there were times, small moments, where Jenny DID sound like Angel and remind him of h...

NO! He was NOT going to do that! Jenny was NOT his daughter!

"You keep insisting you're not a soldier," Jenny remarked, "But look at you! Drawing up strategies like a proper general."

"No no, I'm trying to stop the fighting," not only was it something he always tried to do, but something he knew Angel would do as well, something she'd be proud of...

"Isn't every soldier?"

"Well..." he blinked at how Jenny had just gotten the better of him, "I suppose..." just like Angel had, "But that's…" he shook his head, "That's…technically..." no, Jenny was not like Angel, he needed to stop thinking like that, trying to find similarities, he knew what it was, his subconsious, the part of him that wanted a child, trying to find ways for his conscious mind to accept her, but he refused, "I haven't got time for this! Donna, give me your phone!" he needed something else to focus on, "Time for an upgrade!" she handed the Doctor her phone, watching as he flashed it with the sonic.

"And now you've got a weapon!"

"It's not a weapon!"

"But you're using it to fight back!" she pointed out with a laugh, "I'm gonna learn an awful lot from you, you are such a soldier!"

The Doctor winced, and there she went again, sounding like Angel had just after the tunnel collapsed only, you know, with the soldier remark, "Donna, will you tell her?"

"Oh, you are speechless, I'm _loving_ this!" Donna beamed, "You keep on, Jenny! Only time I've ever seen him properly speechless is when Angel kis..."

The Doctor tossed Donna back her phone, cutting her off, blushing a bit, "Universal roaming," he explained, "You can call anyone, anywhere, anywhen."

"We can call Martha!" she exclaimed, starting to dial the number.

"You don't have to. I've got Angel…"

"Donna!" Martha came on the speakerphone.

"Martha!" Donna breathed a sigh of relief, she knew that the Doctor and Angel could talk in their minds, they'd explained it after dealing with the Ood, when she'd asked about them just standing there looking at each other after Solana's pitch, but SHE couldn't and SHE wanted to know if her sister and friend were ok, hear it herself because Rule 1 was, the Doctor lied, "You're alive! And Angel?"

"I'm here Donna," Angel called.

"Are you alright?" Martha asked.

"The Doctor's with me," Donna nodded, "With J..."

"We're fine," the Doctor cut in before Donna could finish talking, he didn't want Angel to know that Jenny had a name now, though he supposed she may have seen it in his mind by now. But a name, a name made Jenny more real, and he didn't want Angel to think he was ok with Jenny, that he was happy about having a daughter that wasn't...theirs...

"And...and Jenny, she's here too!" Donna glared at the Doctor for not including her.

"Yes alright," he huffed, now stuck having to say it, "And...and Jenny...that's the woman from the machine, the soldier, my daughter, except she isn't Angel, she's not…she's…she's...she's..."

Jenny frowned, watching as he struggled for the words, which seemed very unlike him, he really _was_ having a difficult time accepting her wasn't he?

"It's alright Doctor," Angel called, her voice soft, "I understand."

"Anyway," he swallowed hard, "Where are you exactly?" he hadn't had time to actually pinpoint where the Hath camp was on the map.

"We're in the Hath camp," Martha said, not getting that, "The Hath are all marching off to some place that's appeared on this map thing."

"The new map," Angel added, knowing the Doctor would get it.

"Right…" the Doctor rubbed his neck, wincing as he realized he may have also given the Hath directions to the same place as the humans, and if the Hath brought Martha and Angel along...oh dear, "If both armies are heading that way, there's going to be a bloodbath."

"What do you want us to do?" Martha asked.

"Just stay where you are," he insisted quickly, "If you're safe there then _don't move_ , d'you hear? If I need to contact you, I'll use my connection with Angel, same goes for you."

"But we can _help_!" Martha argued...

And then the phone went dead.

~8~

Cobb stood before his troops, making a speech, "The doors that have been closed will be open to us now. The door to the Temple, to the Source, and to victory!" the soldiers cheered, "Come the dawn cycle, we march!"

~8~

The Doctor looked over as the cheers and chanting drifted to the cell, "They're getting ready to move out. We have to get past that guard."

"I can deal with him," Jenny stepped up.

"No, no, no, no," the Doctor pulled her away before he realized he had, the instinct to protect her rearing up before he could crush it down, "You're not going anywhere."

"What?"

He shook his head firmly, "You belong here, with them," _that_ was why he stopped her, he told himself, not because he wanted to keep her safe, like Angel, but because she wasn't his daughter, she was a soldier, from the machine and belonged with them. Not him. Not Angel. She wasn't their daughter.

"She belongs with _us_ ," Donna cut in, "With you. With Angel."

"But she's not _Angel's_ daughter," he cried, willing Donna to see what he was trying to say.

"Yeah, but she's yours!" Donna argued, "Angel loves YOU and she'll love anything that's a part of you too! You know that!"

"She's a soldier," he shook his head, knowing it was true, he could feel it, Angel may not have _said_ it to him, understanding this was already a difficult situation for him, but he could _feel_ it, she wanted to meet Jenny properly, but he knew, he just knew, it would break her hearts to do it, to see a woman, face-to-face, and know that she was HIS daughter and not HERS as well, "She came out of that machine!"

"Oh yes, I know that bit! Listen, have you got that stethoscope? Give it to me. Come on!"

"What're you doing?" Jenny asked when the Doctor handed the ginger the scope.

"It's alright," Donna promised, "Just hold still," she placed it on Jenny's chest, first on the left, then the right, before looking at the Doctor, "Come here. Listen. And _then_ tell me where she belongs," she handed him the scope to put on and repeated the process, allowing him to hear Jenny's hearts, her twin hearts, beating in her chest.

He took a step back and stared at Jenny, stunned, "Two hearts."

This was too much, if she'd just been a human he could force himself away from her, reminding himself she was human, he was Time Lord, she WASN'T his daughter, she couldn't be, she wasn't even the same species. But now...now he _knew_ , she was, she was a Time Lady, just like Angel was...

"Exactly."

"What's going on?" Jenny shook her head, pushing a strand of hair behind her ears, frowning as she saw the Doctor wince at that action.

"Does that mean she's a...what's Angel? What do you call a female Time Lord? A Time Lady?"

"What's a Time Lady?"

"It's who I am, a Time Lord," the Doctor said as he leaned back against the wall, staring at Jenny, his hearts breaking, she really _was_ so much like Angel in ways and she hadn't even met the woman! How was he going to be able to keep pushing her away? He truly didn't know, "It's who Angel is. It's where we're from."

"And I'm from _you_."

"You're an _echo_ , that's all," maybe that was how, she wasn't a _true_ Time Lady, she hadn't gone to the Untempered Schism, she hadn't gone to the Academy, she hadn't travelled in time, she hadn't fought in the Time War, she was just...an echo of him, she _had_ to be, because if she was real...his resolve would break entirely, "A Time Lord is so much more. A sum of knowledge. A code. A shared history. A shared suffering," he swallowed hard, "A shared loss," he shook his head, his mind wandering to his own upcoming loss, "Only it's gone now. All of it. Gone forever."

His hope as well.

Angel was his light in the darkness, his calm in the storm, his hope in despair, and now...she was just...fading out of his life.

"What happened?"

"There was a war."

"Like this one?"

He laughed at how sadly _this_ compared to the Last Great Time War, "Bigger. Much bigger."

"And you fought? You and this Angel woman. And killed?"

"Yes," he said, feeling the darkness seeping into him at the memory of it all without Angel there to hold it back.

"Then how are we different?"

~8~

Angel let out a breath as she wiped a tear from her eyes, listening into the Doctor's discovery. She shook her head; she _couldn't_ worry about this now, she'd tried her hardest to get the Hath to listen to them, to not march off to war, but they'd been too excited to find the Source of legend. She looked over at Martha who was talking to the only Hath that had stayed with them in the encampment, the one they'd helped before, Peck, "I need to charge it up," she held up the phone, "I need power, d'you understand?" the Hath just fiddled with the controls of the map, changing it into a 3D version, "There's even more! In 3D! Angel look!"

Angel walked over and looked at it, smiling softly, "You are just brilliant," she smiled at Peck, who bowed his head as though shy or blushing.

"So this is where everybody's headed?" Martha pointed to an area, "But look...those tunnels sort of zig-zag…if we went up and over the surface in a straight line, we'd get there first!"

Peck gurgled.

"He said that's not a good idea," Angel translated.

"Why not?" Martha frowned. Peck brought up another diagram, Martha's eyes widening as she read the readings, exactly what the surface of the planet was like, "Are these readings to the surface? Well it doesn't look too bad. Nitrogen and oxygen about 80:20, that's fine. Ozone levels are high. And some big radiation spikes. But as long as we're not out there too long..."

Angel frowned as she looked at it, seeing the levels, for a normal person, yes, it wasn't too bad if done quickly. For a Time Lord, it was nothing really, they were made to endure worse but...for a sick Time Lord...all that, the radiation, the elements they'd be exposed to...it wouldn't be good. She was already wearing herself thin given her exposure to the Sontaran clonefeed, it wouldn't be good for her to go out there too...but...Martha was probably going to, and she couldn't let Martha go alone. She just...had this terrible feeling that something bad was going to happen on the surface. She didn't know if it would be to Martha or Peck or both but...maybe, if she was there, she could try and stop whatever it was.

"Angel?" Martha called, nudging her a bit, frowning as she saw the woman just staring at the readings.

"What?" she looked up, before realizing Peck had been gurgling beside her and poor Martha was having trouble hearing him, "Oh, um, he wants to know why we want to go there."

"We have to find our friends! Angel's Mate!" she turned to head off with Angel when Peck gurgled.

"Can he come?" Angel asked for him.

"Come on, then!" Martha agreed, waving him on.

~8~

Jenny turned to Cline as he stood by the cell door, "Hey."

"I'm not supposed to talk to you," Cline said, "I'm on duty."

"I know. Guarding me," she smiled flirtatiously, "So does that mean I'm dangerous? Or that I need protecting?"

"Protecting from what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Men like you?" she leaned forward and kissed him, all the while grabbing his gun out of his hands and pointed it at him when she pulled back, "Keep quiet and open the door."

The Doctor and Donna exchanged a look as they stood against the back wall, "I'd like to see _you_ try _that_!" Donna remarked.

The Doctor just shifted uncomfortably, something stirring in him, an anger and...protectiveness, at seeing his daughter kissing a boy...no! She wasn't his daughter! He had to stop letting thoughts like that slip through.

Jenny was not his daughter and she never would be.

~8~

The trio headed downstairs, the Doctor pulling Jenny back automatically when they spotted a guard around the corner with his back to them, letting go of her immediately, "That's the way out," he murmured as Jenny cocked her gun and moved to step forward, only for him to stop her, "Don't you dare!" he pointed at her warningly, almost scoldingly, like a proper parent dealing with a child.

Donna smirked at that, seeing Jenny working her way into his hearts despite his best efforts not to let her, "Let me distract this one. I have picked up a few womanly wiles over the years."

"Let's...save your wiles for later," the Doctor stopped her as well, "In case of emergency," he pulled a windup toy mouse from his pocket and set it to scurry past the guard. They waited as the guard turned and went to examine the mouse. Jenny stepped behind him and quickly knocked him out with a quick chop, "I was gonna distract him, not clobber him!"

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Jenny argued.

"They must all have a copy of that new map," he knelt down, searching the soldier's pockets, not about to get into really scolding her, he wasn't her parent, it wasn't his job to teach her right from wrong, "Just stay there, don't hurt anyone."

"It's not like I was gonna kill him," Jenny huffed, crossing her arms, "I just stopped him."

The Doctor's hand froze over the map, recalling Angel, how she hadn't killed the Daleks, even when she'd been overwhelmed by the power of the Vortex, she'd just _stopped_ them. He closed his eyes, these little sparks of Angel in Jenny needed to stop popping up, they weren't helping him keep her at a distance.

~8~

The Hath marched down a corridor, stopping at a point, and worked on breaking through the wall.

~8~

Martha and Angel headed up the stairs as Peck followed, gurgling.

"He says he _really_ doesn't advise this," Angel said, seeing Peck reconsidering, "He says we should stay here."

"You can stay down here and live your whole life in the shadows," Martha turned to him, "Or come with us and stand in the open air. Feel the wind on your face. What's it gonna be?"

He hesitated.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Angel told Peck gently, putting a hand on his shoulder, "It's up to you in the end. But Martha and I need to go and nothing's gonna stop us."

Martha nodded her agreement, climbing out onto the surface, Angel following, as well as Peck. They found themselves on a cold, windy, deserted planet lit by three moons, "I knew he wouldn't be able to resist you," Martha smirked at Angel when she saw Peck climb up beside them, "You're good."

Peck gurgled, sounding a little angry, as Martha looked at Angel questioningly.

"I, um, I don't think I should repeat it," Angel frowned.

"Oh… _language_!" Martha chastised with a laugh.

Angel smiled a bit at that before looking around, "I think it's this way," she murmured, taking the lead, letting her intuition guide her.

~8~

Soldiers ran into the cell to find Cline inside, tied up, the prisoners nowhere to be seen.

"It was the girl!" he shouted, "She tricked me, they...they got away. I'm sorry."

"I waited all my life for this moment," Cobb glared, "No one's gonna get in my way. Certainly not this Doctor. At arms! We march to war!"

~8~

The Doctor looked down at the map in his hand as they walked through the tunnels, "Wait! This is it. The hidden tunnel. There must be a control panel," he turned to the wall and started sonicing it, when Donna noticed another set of numbers, 60120714.

"It's another one of those numbers," she frowned, "They're everywhere."

"The original builders must've left them. Some old cataloguing system."

"You got a pen? Bit of paper? 'Cos, d'you see, the numbers are counting down," she took the paper and pen the Doctor handed her and started writing them down, "This one ends in 1-4, the prison cell said 1-6."

"Always thinking, both of you," Jenny shook her head at them, "Who _are_ you people?"

"I told you," the Doctor sighed, "I'm the Doctor."

"The Doctor? That's it?"

"That's all he ever says," Donna remarked, "Just like the Angel."

"So, you don't have a name either?" Jenny looked at the Doctor, "Neither you nor this Angel? Are you anomalies too?"

"No," he said.

"Oh, come off it!" Donna scoffed, "You're the most anomalous bloke I've ever met! Angel though, simpliest person ever."

"She's not simple Donna, she's incredible," the Doctor corrected with a small, sad smile as he pulled a panel off the wall, "Here it is!"

"And Time Lords, what are they for exactly?" Jenny eyed him.

"'For?' They're not...they're not 'for' anything."

"So what do you do?"

"I travel with Angel. Through time and space."

"They save planets," Donna explained, "Rescue civilizations, defeat terrible creatures, and run. A lot. Seriously, there's an _outrageous_ amount of running involved."

There was a whoosh as the door opened, "Got it!"

"Squad 5, with me!" they heard Cobb's voice echo.

"Now, what were you saying about running?" the Doctor smiled as they took off running, only to stop short by a series of red beams crossing each other, blocking off the tunnel.

"That's not mood lighting, is it?" Donna asked. The Doctor tossed the clockwork mouse into the lights...and it was destroyed instantly, "No, I didn't think so."

"Arming device," the Doctor breathed, turning to a set of controls off to the side and working on them.

"There's more of these!" Donna called, seeing _another_ number, 60120713, "Always eight numbers, counting down, the closer we get..."

"Here we go!" the Doctor soniced the controls.

"You better be quick!"

"The general!" Jenny looked back, hearing the commotion of the approaching soldiers.

She turned to run back but the Doctor caught her arms, "Where are you going?" he demanded before he could stop himself.

"I can hold them up."

"No, we don't need any more dead."

"But it's them or us."

"It doesn't mean you have to kill them!"

"I'm trying to save your life!"

He closed his eyes a moment, thinking of all the times Angel had saved his life, even times she didn't even realize she'd saved him in some way, before he looked at Jenny, "Listen to me, the killing, after a while it _infects_ you. And once it does you're never rid of it."

"We don't have a choice."

"We always have a choice," he swallowed hard, he didn't like this, he didn't like it at all because... "I don't want my daughter turning into a killer."

She was _just_ like Angel, wanting to protect him, just in a more violent and forceful way than his Mate, and...it would kill Angel to have Jenny kill others, to let her run off with a gun and attack others. Angel wanted desperately to meet Jenny, it increased the nearer she came, and he wanted her to meet a different Jenny than the one in the tunnels, a better Jenny. He was the Doctor, he made people better, like Angel did him, he didn't want that darkness in him to shine through in Jenny, and that was a reason he found his thoughts shifting, found himself actually wanting the two to meet, because, the more he thought on it, the more he realized...Jenny...she would need Angel too.

"I'm sorry," she breathed and turned to run off.

"Jenny!"

~8~

"This door!" a soldier called, "Now!" and then he saw Jenny on the other side of the room, "There she is! At arms!"

Jenny fired as the soldiers did the same.

~8~

The Doctor looked back at the sound of the gunshots, Donna frowning in concern as the Doctor tried his hardest not to care, "I told you. Nothing but a soldier."

"She's trying to help," Donna argued.

He winced, just like Angel, no, he couldn't let Jenny do this, "Jenny! Come on!"

~8~

"I'm coming!" Jenny yelled back.

"Cease fire!" Cobb commanded, "Cease fire!"

The firing stopped.

~8~

"That's it!" Donna smiled as the red lights faded.

"Jenny!" the Doctor yelled, "Leave it! Let's go!"

He and Donna ran down the hall.

~8~

Cobb stepped toward Jenny slowly, "You're a child of the machine. You're on _my_ side. Join us! Join us in the war against the Hath. It's in your blood, girl, don't deny it."

Jenny took aim, but hesitated, before firing at a pipe over his head, causing a cloud of steam to blind them a moment. She laughed and ran back to where she'd left the Doctor and Donna.

"Jenny!" the Doctor shouted, catching sight of her, "Come on! That's it!"

"Hurry up!" Donna yelled.

But _just_ as the girl reached it, the red beams flickered back on.

"No, no, no, no!" the Doctor gaped, "The circuit's looped back!"

"Zap it back again!"

"The controls are back there!"

"They're coming!" Jenny yelled.

"Wait!" he shook his head, quickly thinking, feeling himself getting almost as frantic as when Angel was in danger, "J…Just...there isn't...Jenny, I can't!"

"I'll have to manage on my own," she backed up, "Watch and learn, father!" and with that, she leapt at the beams, dropping into a series of somersaults and flips till she reached the other side.

"No way!" Donna gasped, "But that was impossible!"

"Not impossible," the Doctor beamed, "Just a bit unlikely!" he pulled Jenny into a hug with a proud smile, "Brilliant! You were brilliant! Brilliant! Just like your mum!"

"I didn't kill him," Jenny said, smiling widely, he'd said she had a mother! It was probably that Angel woman he went on about, but she didn't know which woman it was, she hadn't exactly gotten a good look at them in the tunnel, "General Cobb, I could have kill him, but I didn't. You were right. I had a choice."

The soldiers arrived at the other end of the corridor and the Doctor lightly shoved Jenny and Donna forward before turning to Cobb.

"At arms!" the man shouted.

"I warned you, Cobb," the Doctor said, "If the Source is a weapon, I'm gonna make sure you never use it."

"One of us is gonna die today and it won't be me," Cobb glared before giving the order to fire at the Doctor who ran off.

~8~

Martha, Angel, and Peck struggled forward on the surface, all of them hugging themselves in the chill and the rain and the wind, "It can't be much further," Martha said before tripping and slipping down towards a bog.

Angel however, quickly grabbed her, holding her by the hand, keeping her from falling down entirely.

"Peck help!" Angel turned to the Hath who quickly knelt beside her, reaching out for Martha's other hand.

"Help me!" Martha shouted. The two struggled to haul Martha back up, falling onto their backs, Martha on her stomach between them as they panted in exertion, "That was close."

"Far too close," Angel agreed with a frown…she hadn't even sensed what was going to happen till the very last moment before Martha fell.

That would _not_ bode well in the future.

"Come on," Angel panted, pushing herself to her feet, moving to help Peck up as Martha got up as well...only to turn when she heard Martha hiss in pain, "What is it?"

Martha winced, holding her hand, "I cut it on something when I fell," Martha muttered, looking around for what that something might have been before examining her hand again, "There's nothing to treat it with, I hope it doesn't get infected..."

"Let me see," Angel stepped beside her and looked at it in the dim light of the moons, it was a rather nasty cut, bleeding quite a bit, the metallic smell made her stomach hurt, as did the sight of it. She bit her lip, seeing Martha wince again as a gust of wind and rain hit them, "Martha...do you trust me?" she asked.

"Course I do," Martha nodded, frowning at Angel for the question.

Angel nodded and looked down at the cut once more...and her eyes started to glow golden. Martha gasped as she looked at her, and then at her hand when she felt a warmth flood through it. She watched in awe as the cut on her hand started to glow golden as well, soft whisps of energy drifting out of Angel's hands, wrapping around her own, and settling on the cut...mending it. She watched, stunned, as her hand was healed before her eyes.

Angel gasped, panting a bit more as she stumbled back, it should have been easier to heal Martha, her powers having grown since meeting Mr. Copper, but she was ill, she was dying, she was weaker than she should be and so...it had taken a bit more out of her to heal Martha than it should have.

"Angel," Martha stared at her, rubbing a finger over her palm, feeling the smooth skin, "How did you do that?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohh...looks like Martha's about to learn the truth! :) But awww, the Doctor's starting to accept Jenny :) Wait till Angel meets her ;)


	24. The Doctor's Daughter: The Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning...very tiny spoiler into Jack's personal life/Series 3 of Torchwood near the end of this chapter :)

Angel swallowed hard, brushing her hair behind her ear, "You remember how the Doctor told Jack about what I did to him? How it all happened?"

Martha nodded, "Yeah, something about how you took in some heart thing...the Vortex he called it."

She gave Martha a meaningful look.

"Oh my God," Martha breathed, staring at her with wide eyes, making the connection, "That's what it was? You used the Vortex to heal my hand...but...how?" she shook her head, "The Doctor said he pulled it out of you!"

"He did," she sighed, "THAT time."

"That time?"

"Remember what he said happened the second time I took it in?"

Martha frowned and thought, recalling that time, so long ago, when the Doctor had been talking to Jack about what had happened to the man. He'd said Angel had taken in the Vortex and saved the man, brought him to life forever, but had nearly died. And then...

Her head snapped up as she stared at Angel, then he'd said that it happened again and she'd _died_ that time.

"I don't understand," she shook her head, "If you died, didn't it leave you then? Wouldn't the regeneration have, I don't know, burned it out of you?"

Angel gave a small laugh, "Nothing is more powerful than the Vortex, not even regeneration energy," she sighed, hugging herself tighter at the chill, "It...it didn't leave me that time Martha. It's still in me."

"Is it going to kill you?" Martha asked, her voice breaking at the thought. Angel couldn't die, she couldn't, she was just...she was exactly like Donna had called her, Supergirl.

Angel gave her a sad smile, "No, _the Vortex_ won't kill me."

Something else would.

Well, the Vortex probably _could_ kill her, it had before, it might again, but this time...this time it wasn't the Vortex that would do her in.

"Well good," Martha nodded, moving to hug Angel, not caring what that might mean for her to have that power inside her, she was still Angel, she was still alive and well, and she was really just relieved that she was alright because she was truly scared of even thinking of the woman dying, "'Cos you're not allowed to go anywhere."

Angel hugged her tightly, tears in her eyes for what would happen when Martha and Donna learned the truth.

"Come on," she pulled away, wiping her face, masking wiping her tears away with pretending to wipe the rain off her, "We need to go," she took a breath and smiled, "I want to meet my daughter."

"I thought she was the Doctor's daughter?" Martha asked as they continued on, Peck moving ahead of them despite Angel leading, wanting to keep an eye out for any more falls.

"She is," Angel nodded, her smile turning more genuine, "And he's MY Mate. So she's my daughter too."

Martha had to smile at that as well. She'd gotten the impression the Doctor wasn't very accepting of that Jenny girl over the phone, but he was a complicated man. Who knew what went on his head.

But Angel, she was looking at it in the simplest way, Jenny was _the Doctor's_ daughter, the Doctor was _her_ Mate, therefore Jenny was her daughter too.

Martha reached out and took Angel's hand, squeezing it, ignoring the chill of it from the cold, "She's gonna love you."

~8~

The Doctor shook his head as he smiled at Angel, hearing her words in his mind, how did she do that? Just...make things so simple? Here he'd been, pushing Jenny away, fighting tooth and nail to believe she _wasn't_ his daughter...and there was Angel, the woman who _didn't_ share DNA with the girl, accepting Jenny as her daughter and she hadn't even met her.

He supposed there was no going back now, no reason to fight it any longer, Angel wanted Jenny to be her daughter, Angel was going to claim Jenny as hers regardless of whether they shared blood or genes, and so...Jenny really _would_ be theirs in a way.

"So, you travel together, but you're not...'together?'" he heard Jenny question Donna carefully as she and the ginger walked after him.

"What?" Donna gasped, "No, no! No way! No, no. We're friends. That's all. I mean, we're not even the same species, there's probably laws against it. And anyway, he's already got a Mate and that's Angel."

"This Angel woman…is she my mother?"

Donna blinked, smiling as she saw a small smile on the Doctor's face as well at that idea. She knew this would happen eventually, the Doctor was the most brilliant man but sometimes he could be SO slow. Blood didn't matter, DNA didn't matter, a child was a child to a parent no matter what, Angel saw it, and now, it seemed, he was starting to as well, "I suppose she is, yeah. Or at least a step-mother."

Jenny smiled widely at the thought of having two parents, "And what's it like, the travelling?"

"Ah, never a dull moment. Can be terrifying, brilliant, and funny, sometimes all at the same time. I've seen some amazing things though. Whole new worlds."

"Oh, I'd love to see new worlds."

"You will. Won't she, Doctor?"

"Hmm?" he pulled his attention away from the map.

"D'you think Jenny will see any new worlds?"

"I suppose so," he said, offering a little smile.

"You mean...you mean, you'll take me with you?" Jenny stared at him, _so_ hopeful and then he noticed, there, in the edge of her baby blues...tiny flecks of gold. They looked different than Angel's, hers sparkled, but Jenny's...they made her eyes look almost green when a certain light hit it, different than Angel but still... _so_ like her.

"We can't leave you here, can we?" the Doctor reasoned, looking at her softly, "And Angel will really kill me if you don't. She wants to meet her daughter."

Donna frowned a bit as the Doctor's eyes filled with tears at that, his voice almost cracking on the word 'daughter.'

Jenny, however, just beamed and hugged him tightly, "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! Come on! Let's get a move on! I can't wait to meet mum!" and jogged off.

"Careful, there might be traps!" he warned her, shaking himself out of his thoughts, feeling the protectiveness rising in him, but...accepting it. Angel wanted to meet Jenny, she'd said it out loud now and he had to make sure they'd meet, because that smile that he knew would be on Angel's face...would make it all worth it, to see her that happy. He had to keep Jenny safe so they could.

"Kids!" Donna smiled, "They never listen!" she glanced at him to see him _still_ looking troubled though, "Oh, I know that look. See it a lot round our way. Blokes with pushchairs and frowns. You've got dad-shock."

"Dad-shock?"

"Sudden, unexpected fatherhood. Take a bit of getting used to."

"No, it's not that..."

"Well, what is it then? Having Jenny in the TARDIS is that it? What's she gonna do, cramp your style? Like you've got a sports car and she's gonna turn it into a people-carrier?"

"Donna, I've been a father before."

"What?" Donna gasped.

"I lost all that a long time ago. Along with everything else. Angel never even got the chance to be a mother before and now…"

"I'm sorry," Donna put a hand on his shoulder, "I didn't know. Why didn't you tell me? You talk all the time, but you don't _say_ anything."

"I know," he swallowed hard, "I'm just...when I look at her now I can see them. The hole they left, all the pain that filled it. It's gotten easier with Angel here, but…I just don't know if I can face that every day when she..." he shook his head, he didn't even want to think it let alone _say_ it.

"It won't stay like that. She'll help you. Angel will too. We both will."

"But when they died, that part of me died with them. It'll never come back. Not now," he added the last part softly.

Had he and Angel been able to…he might have been able to finally let go, start anew for his children…but now. Now he was losing everything all over again, he couldn't bear it to let Jenny in and have it all fall apart again.

"I tell you something, Doctor, something I've never told you before. I think you're _wrong_."

Jenny ran back to them as shooting sounded in the distance, "They've blasted through the beams, time to run again. Love the running! Yeah?"

"Love the running," he smiled sadly and took off with the girls.

~8~

Martha, Angel, and Peck struggled forward on the surface, shivering and frigid with cold, Angel taking the lead as she got them through the harsh conditions, Peck and Martha trusting that she'd be able to get them there. And then they spotted it, the 'Temple' in the distance, and hurried towards it.

~8~

The Doctor, Donna, and Jenny reached a dead end, "We're trapped!" Donna exclaimed.

"Can't be," the Doctor frowned, "This must be the temple," he reached out to feel along the wall, realizing it wasn't exactly a wall at all, "This is a door."

He wished, and not for the first time, that Angel had been there. She wouldn't have needed the map or anything to get them to this spot. She'd have known the wall was a door, she was just amazing like that.

"And again!" Donna found another number stamp, 60120712, "We're down to 1-2 now..."

"I've got it!" the Doctor shouted, working on the wall with the sonic.

"I can hear them!" Jenny kept watch.

"Nearly done."

"These _can't_ be a cataloguing system," Donna murmured.

"They're getting closer!" Jenny warned.

"Then get back here!" he shouted.

"They're too similar," Donna eyed them, "Too familiar."

"Not yet," Jenny shook her head.

"Now!" he shouted as the door slid open, "Got it!"

~8~

Martha, Angel, and Peck reached a similar door on the surface, and all of them grabbed the edge, pulling with all their might to get it open, rushing through.

~8~

The Doctor looked over, immediately sensing Angel's presence within the compound, heading towards his own, and let out, what felt like, the breath he hadn't been able to take since spotting the Hath pulling her and Martha away from him.

"They're coming!" Jenny shouted, "Close the door!" the Doctor turned and pushed some keys, sliding the door shut, "Oh, that was close!"

"No fun otherwise!" the Doctor smiled.

"It's not what I'd call a temple..." Donna remarked, catching sight of the space before them.

"It looks more like..." Jenny frowned.

"Fusion-drive transport," the Doctor agreed, eyeing all the high tech around them, "It's a spaceship!"

"What, the original one?" Donna turned to him, "The one the first colonists arrived in?"

"Well, it could be, but the power cells would have run down after all that time. This one's still powered-up and functioning. Come on!"

They turned and ran, only to see someone cutting through another door, "It's the Hath!" Jenny realized, "That door's not gonna last much longer. And if General Cobb gets through down there, war's gonna break out. We have to stop them!"

The Doctor felt his lips twitch up at that, listen to her, Jenny, now trying to STOP the fighting, just like her old mum, "Look, look, look, look, look!" he ran to a control panel, "Ship's log!" he switched it on and read through the information quickly, "'First wave of Human/Hath co-colonization of planet Messaline.'"

"So it _is_ the original ship."

"What happened?" Donna squinted, trying to make out the information but it was flashing by too quickly.

"'Phase one,'" he read, "'Construction.' They used robot drones to build the city."

"But does it mention the war?"

"Final entry...'Mission commander dead. Still no agreement on who should assume leadership. Hath and humans have divided into factions.' That must be it! A power vacuum. The crew divided into two factions and turned on each other. Start using the progenation machines and suddenly you've got two armies fighting a never-ending war!"

"Two armies who are now both outside," Jenny added.

"Look at that," Donna stuck her finger at the screen, the wall numbers were there as well, but now at 2-4, 60120724.

"It's like the numbers in the tunnels," the Doctor realized.

"No, no, no, no, but listen...I spent six months working as a temp in Hounslow Library, and I mastered the Dewey Decimal System in two days flat. I'm good with numbers! It's staring us in the face!"

"What is?" Jenny asked.

"It's the _date_! Assuming the first two numbers are some big old space date, then you've got year, month, day. It's the other way round, like it is in America!"

"Oh!" the Doctor's eyes widened, "It's the New Byzantine Calendar!"

"The codes are completion dates for each section. They finish it, they stamp the date on! So the numbers aren't counting down, they're going out, from here, day by day, as the city got built."

"Yes! Oh, good work, Donna!"

"Yeah! But you're, you're _still_ not getting it. The first number I saw back there, was 6012-07-17. Well, look at the date today!"

"07-24. _No_!"

"What does it mean?" Jenny shook her head, not following.

"Seven days."

"That's it!" Donna smiled, "Seven days!"

"Just seven days?!"

"What d'you mean, seven days?" Jenny looked between them.

"Seven days since war broke out."

"This war started seven days ago!" Donna told her, "Just a week! A week!"

"They said _years_!" Jenny shook her head.

"No. They said _generations_. And if they're all like you, and they're products of those machines..."

"They could have 20 generations in a day!" the Doctor exclaimed, "Each generation gets killed in the war, passes on the legend! Oh! Donna, you're a genius!" he hugged her tightly, "Oh, there's that family resemblance shining through again!"

"But all the buildings, the encampments, they're in _ruins_ ," Jenny countered.

"No they're not ruined, they're just _empty_! Waiting to be populated! Oh, they've mythologized their entire history! The Source must be part of that too. Come on!"

They turned and ran around a corner, only to bump into Martha, Angel, and Peck, "Doctor!" Martha beamed, "Donna!"

"Angel!" the Doctor quickly pulled the woman into a hug, literally pulling her off the floor as he squeezed her tightly, making her laugh, before set her down and kept true to his promise, kissing her breathless, before reaching out and pulling Martha into another hug as well, "Martha Jones!"

"Who's your friend?" Donna smirked at the Hath who seemed to actually be a bit shy now.

"Oh, this is Peck," Martha smiled.

"He was helping us," Angel added before turning to Jenny, who was staring at her with wide eyes, "And you must be Jenny."

"Mum?" Jenny asked, blinking back tears. She hadn't gotten a good look at the two in the tunnel, but now she could see, her mother was _beautiful_ and with such a _warmth_ and _kindness_ in her eyes…she could understand her father's reluctance for violence now.

"Hello," Angel stepped forward and pulled Jenny into a tight hug, "It is SO nice to meet you Jen," she whispered to the girl. She may not be her daughter by blood, but that didn't matter. She could already feel a connection to the girl who was her Mate's daughter.

"Oh, you're filthy," Donna remarked as Martha hugged her as well, "What happened?!"

"We, erm, took the surface route," Martha said.

The Doctor tensed, seeing the dirty and worn state they were both in and flashed the sonic over them, frowning at the results, the traces of radiation and earth and elements stuck to them. He looked at Angel, knowing that trip couldn't have been easy on her, about to check on her...when the voice of the soldiers reached them.

"That's the general!" he realized, "We haven't got much time."

"We don't even know what we're looking for!" Donna shouted.

"Is it me, or can you smell flowers?" Martha frowned.

"Yes!" the Doctor's eyes widened, "Bougainvillea! I say we follow our no..." he cut off as Angel grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hall, "Follow the psychic!" he called as the others ran after them.

"Blocks 7 to 10, advance!" they heard Cobb shout, "With me!"

They stopped short, reaching what seemed to be a huge greenhouse area, filled with all sorts of flora and vegetation, "Oh, yes!" the Doctor beamed, looking at Jenny and Angel, "Yes! Isn't this brilliant?"

"Is that the Source?" Donna asked, gesturing to a small glass sphere on a pedestal, shining with gases within.

"It's beautiful," Jenny breathed as her mother took her hand, squeezing it with a smile.

"What is it?" Martha asked.

"Terraforming!" the Doctor said, "It's a third generation terraforming device!"

"So why are we suddenly in Kew Gardens?" Donna frowned.

"Because that's what it does. All this, only bigger. Much bigger! It's in a transit state. Producing all this must help keep it stable before they finally..."

The Hath ran in to their right, Peck quickly moving to their side, trying to explain what was happening as the humans appeared on the other side, each with their guns cocked at the other.

"Stop! Hold your fire!"

"What is this?" Cobb spat, "Some kind of trap?"

"You said you wanted this war over."

"I want this war _won_."

"You _can't_ win. No one can. You don't even know why you're here. Your whole history, it's just Chinese whispers. Getting more distorted the more it's passed on," he gestured at the sphere, "This is the Source. This is what you're fighting over. A device to rejuvenate a planet's ecosystem. It's nothing mystical. It's from a laboratory, not some creator. It's a bubble of gases. A cocktail of stuff for accelerated evolution. Methane, hydrogen, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids. It's used to make barren planets habitable. Look around you! It's not for killing, it's bringing life. If you allow it, it can lift you out of these dark tunnels and into the bright, bright sunlight! No more fighting. No more killing," he stepped forward and lifted it up, "I'm the Doctor, and I declare this war is over!"

He threw it on the ground, the sphere shattering as the gases escaped, shining in gold and green as it flew higher into the air. Amazed at the sight, the humans and Hath put down their guns.

Angel blinked, frowning, the swirling was starting to hurt her head, making her dizzy...well, that and everything she'd endured on the surface was catching up to her, the adrenaline was starting to wear off now that things seemed to be calming...

"What's happening?" Jenny whispered to her parents.

Angel scrunched her face in pain, rubbing the side of her head, it was pounding now and a ringing was starting to sound in her ears...

"The gases will escape and trigger the terraforming process," he beamed.

Angel opened her eyes to look at the Doctor, wanting to see the smile she knew would be on his face...when she swallowed hard, the room was starting to spin…

"What does that mean?" Jenny frowned.

And then a barrage of hazy, disjointed images hit her...

… _there was a gunshot…Jenny fell to the ground…the Doctor held a gun to Cobb's head_ …

"It means a new world," the Doctor smiled lightly.

Jenny laughed with delight, when she caught sight of Cobb aiming a gun at the Doctor...

But before she could even react to the sight, though, she felt herself being shoved to the ground as both she and the Doctor were tackled by Angel, a split second before Cobb fired his gun, grazing Angel's arm in the process. The woman hissed in pain, grabbing her arm as she fell to her knees from the shove, the blood mixing with the brown dirt and her once white sweater, as the humans grabbed Cobb, holding him down and pulling his gun away from him.

The Doctor quickly sat up and looked at Angel, "Are you alright?"

She nodded, "I'm fine..." but her words were starting to slur, all of them able to see her swaying on her knees, "I just...I'm..."

She collapsed to the side, whether from the blood loss or how terribly the room was spinning in her vision she didn't know, only that it went black as the Doctor scambled to catch her before she hit the ground.

"Mum!" Jenny shouted, crawling over to her mother's side as she lay cradled in the Doctor's stunned arms.

"Angel!" the Doctor shook her slightly, his hearts beating wildly "Angel! Wake up!"

Martha quickly dropped to her knees, tearing off a piece of her shirt to wrap around Angel's wound till they could clean it properly, wondering briefly if Angel had to be awake to use the Vortex...if she could even use it on herself, as Donna knelt down as well.

"What's wrong?" Donna breathed, "Is it the cut?"

Martha shook her head, "I don't know…Doctor?" no matter what, a little graze like that wouldn't have done that to Angel.

They looked up to see the Doctor was looking down at Angel, tears and fear in his eyes as he clutched her to him, "Angel…Angel you have to wake up," he was speaking to her softly, whispering to her, begging her, "It's not time yet. Please…please be alright. Please wake up…"

But Angel didn't stir.

He knew what happened. He'd felt her emotions shift from happiness to fear and stress despite both sides hesitating to fire at the other, willing to listen to him, he saw her sway before she moved to push him and Jenny out of the way…everything had been too much for her, the trip to the surface, the strain of the environment, the human aiming a gun at her Mate and daughter…it had taken its toll, the gunshot putting her over the edge.

The Doctor kissed her forehead, gently shifting her to Jenny to hold, instinctively trusting her now to protect her mother, more so than the humans, while he dealt with Cobb. He stood and grabbed Cobb's gun, standing over the man, pointing it at his head, shocking the humans and Hath alike.

"That was _your_ fault!" he spat at the man, so angry he could barely form complete sentences, "My Mate…because of _you_ …" Martha and Donna looked on, stunned to see him _threatening_ a man like that, actually worried for Cobb as Angel wasn't able to stop the Doctor...

But suddenly he lowered the gun and crouched before him, glaring, "I _never_ would. Have you _got_ that? I never would!" he stood up and turned to the different sides, "When you start this new world. This world of Human and Hath...remember that! Make the foundation of this society. A man who never would!"

He threw the gun away and walked back over to Jenny, taking Angel from her arms and lifting her up, walking away.

~8~

Angel was laying on a table in the theater room, still unconscious, as the Doctor, Donna, and Martha stood on one side, the Doctor holding her hand tightly, Cline, Peck, and Jenny on the other, Jenny doing like her father. Suddenly a beam of light shot through the windows and landed on Angel's face.

"It's happening," Martha remarked, "The terraforming."

"Build a city nice and safe underground," Donna nodded, "Strip away the top soil. And there it is," she paused and looked at the Doctor, "Doctor, what happened to Angel?"

He swallowed hard, his other hand stroking her hair, "She's dying."

"What?!" Martha gasped.

"How?" Donna frowned, Jenny looking at them alarmed.

"Just like during the Year-That-Never-Was," the Doctor looked at Martha, knowing she would understand.

Martha's eyes widened before looking down at Angel with tears in her eyes.

"The what?" Jenny asked quietly, her voice shaking. She'd JUST found her mother and now she might lose her?

"We were trapped by another Time Lord," the Doctor explained, his gaze back on Angel, "A bad one. He took our TARDIS, our ship, and made it very sick. Angel, she…she's _deeply_ connected to the ship and she got sick too. We undid all the damage the Time Lord had done, reversing time back a year to _before_ the ship got sick. It made Angel well again but…it didn't last. She's dying just like she did then."

"At least I'm _free_ ," Angel's hoarse whisper called. They looked down to see her blinking awake, "This time I'm not a prisoner. I'm with people I love."

The Doctor gently helped her sit up, his hand remaining on the small of her back, rubbing circles in it lightly, "We should get back to the TARDIS, get you checked out, and rested."

She nodded, too tired to argue, and got off the table. She closed her eyes a moment, a sinking feeling in her stomach, before she called out, "Jenny?" and looked back at the girl, "Are you coming?"

The others thought that a strange question to ask. Of course she was. Why wouldn't she?

But the look on Jenny's face was solemn and regretful, "No."

"What?" the Doctor's eyes widened, starting to sputter, "But...but...you...and we..."

"There's a lot to be done here," Jenny cut in lightly, "A planet to groom, civilizations to build, creatures to discover…" she smiled, "And quite a bit of running around if I'm lucky," she looked at her father, "I want this planet to thrive in your memory dad," and then her mother, "I want it to be everything you are mum," before nodding firmly, "Something you'd both be proud of."

The Doctor smiled at her, tears in his eyes, "You're my daughter," he nodded, just like him she was too, wanting to make things better and explore at the same time, but with her mother's hearts, wanting to care for others as well, "We've only just got started…" he sighed but looked at her with pride, "You're gonna be great. You're gonna be more than great. You're gonna be amazing!"

"She is _your_ daughter," Angel nudged him, just as proud.

Jenny beamed.

~8~

The quartet stood around the TARDIS, the Doctor setting the controls, adapting a small communicator he'd given Jenny so that she could contact them if she ever needed help or wanted to go and see the Universe, while Angel rested on the captain's chair, Martha standing by the console while Donna sat beside Angel, her arm around her, Angel clearly upset that Jenny hadn't come with them despite being proud of her daughter for choosing to do what she was, taking responsibility for the planet and the people and wanting to help them.

"Jenny was the reason for the TARDIS bringing us here," the Doctor worked out, glancing at Angel a moment, that old box always listened to Angel, it must have sensed not only his, but her tiny desire for a child before she...he swallowed hard, what did it mean if _the TARDIS_ was trying to give one of its pilot's her dying wish? Did it mean the box could see her death as well? He shook his head, he wasn't going to think about that, because he'd stop it, he had to, "It just got here too soon, which then created Jenny in the first place. Paradox. An endless paradox," he looked over at his companions, "Time to go home?"

"Yeah," Martha nodded, "Home."

The Doctor pulled down a control and the TARDIS was off.

~8~

Donna and Martha walked down a road towards Martha's house while Angel and the Doctor walked slowly behind them, the Doctor's arm around the Time Lady's waist as she leaned on him a bit more than normal, really she was quite worn.

"You _sure_ about this?" Donna looked at the former companion.

"Yeah, positive," Martha smiled, "I can't do this anymore. You'll be the same one day."

"Not me. Never! How could I ever go back to normal life after seeing all this?" she looked back at the duo, "I'm gonna travel with those two forever."

She refused to believe the Angel would die. She knew the Doctor, he wouldn't allow it. He'd find away to save her. And if not, there was hope the woman would regenerate even if they were all scared she might not.

Martha smiled in understanding, hoping the same, as she hugged the woman, "Good luck."

"And you," Donna nodded, stepping back and turning back to the TARDIS as the Doctor and Angel stepped forward.

"We're making a habit of this," the Doctor commented.

"Yeah," she laughed, "And you'd think it'd get easier," she looked at the two of them sadly, before hugging them, "Bye Doctor. Bye Angel."

"Goodbye," Angel breathed, hugging her tightly, "Dr. Jones," she pulled away and smiled at Martha, "We'll see you again. In the end. I want to see everyone again."

Martha blinked back tears and nodded as they stepped back, the Doctor saluting her with two fingers before they turned and entered the TARDIS. Martha looked at the disappearing box, almost regretting her decision, before she glanced at her engagement ring and smiled.

She had to smile, because they were wrong. Angel wouldn't die, she _wouldn't_. The Doctor would save her and then...then Angel could come to her wedding. She'd put it off forever if she had to, she wanted a healthy Angel there with her, full of life again, and she'd get it.

Because the Doctor didn't let people down.

~8~

Angel sat on the captain's chair, staring at the phone lying on the console for a long while. She'd tried to sleep, managed it for an hour or two, and then laid in bed, in the Doctor's arms, till she grew restless. She'd spent too much time on the _Valiant_ just...lying there, dying, so she snuck out of his arms...only for him to wake up and pull her back, kissing her soundly. He'd been awake the whole time apparently, just watching her sleep, not as tired as she was. He was in the kitchens now, making something for her to eat, something small as she wasn't very hungry but knowing he'd insist on her eating.

But she was in the console room, still just...staring at that phone...before she nodded to herself and stood, walking over to it. She pressed a few buttons and held it to her ear, waiting till it rang, "Yello," came a distinct American accent.

"Jack?" she whispered, tears in her eyes.

"Angie!" Jack cheered before sobering quickly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You really are a terrible liar Ang, what happened?"

She took a breath, "I have a daughter."

"You're pregnant?!" Jack shouted, so loudly she had to pull the phone away from her ear.

"No..."

"But you just said..."

"There was a small incident with the Doctor and a progenation machine."

Jack chuckled, "Is that what you kids are calling it these days?"

"Jack," she let out a small laugh at that though.

He sighed, knowing that it was time to be serious, "What happened?"

"Jenny was born, the Doctor's daughter but...I could _feel_ it Jack, she was mine too. She called me mum..." she started to tear up.

"That's great Ang."

"But um...she decided to stay on her planet, help rebuild it, making it a place her parents would be proud of."

"I understand THAT alright," he laughed, he'd done the same with Torchwood but for his sister not his mother.

"I just...I miss her _so much_ and I only knew her for an hour..."

Jack was silent a moment before speaking, "Angel...I think it's time you met my daughter and grandson."

Her eyes widened, actually surprised at that, "I have a niece?"

"And a great-nephew," he laughed.

"What are their names?"

"Alice and Stephen."

"That's lovely," she smiled, tears in her eyes.

"Alice well...she doesn't let me see them often, thinks I'm too dangerous but...I think she'll feel better if she meets her angel of an aunt. Show her that she and Stephen are protected."

"I'd love to Jack," she nodded, "I'll get the Doctor and we'll come right over with Donna, the Doctor's companion, I think you'll love her, she's ginger too!'"

"Sounds like a plan, I'll order some cupcakes."

She laughed, "And Jack..."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"No problem Angel."

She nodded and hung up the phone, dashing into the TARDIS to find her Mate, forget eating, they had a family to go see!

~8~

Jack smiled as he hung up, standing from his desk and stretching, ready to go to the Plass to meet Angel and the Doctor and this Donna woman...when Tosh ran in, "Jack, we've just detected about five lifeforms, definitely alien, not ones the system recognizes."

He sighed but nodded, "Let's go, get Owen and Ianto, contact Gwen," it was better to have the whole team, all five of them, when facing an unknown species, in case they were hostile at least they'd have even numbers, "We need to be quick about this one."

Tosh frowned, "Any reason why?'

Jack just strode past her, "We're gonna have visitors soon."

Now he just needed to take care of this potential alien threat before Angel got there, he didn't want a life threatening situation to arise, not when she was visiting, especially if he was going to take her to see Alice and Stephen, though...with the Doctor's piloting...they might end up landing there next month...

"Who?" Tosh asked, rushing after him.

He grinned, "My sister."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, getting back to the story, yay! Jenny lives! Well, she lived in the episode too, but now her parents KNOW she's alive ^-^ Given everything Jenny's seen of her father, and learned about her mother, I think, since Angel's different than the Professor or Evy, that Jenny would react in a different way than in the episode. Here she isn't going to go flying off, here she's a bit like Angel (despite not sharing DNA with her) and she wants to take care of/protect people, what better way to start than with that planet? :)
> 
> But...poor Angel :( I mentioned that, around this time on the Valiant, she had collapsed and that was what made the Master run scans and tests on her and find out she was dying. Well...Angel collapsed here as well. All I can say is...from here on out, quite a few of the original scenes will be...well...heartbreaking :'( Gotta love that angst though :)
> 
> The next chapter will officially be the Torchwood crossover! I've decided to break it up into 2 chapters though. I've worked the Doctor, Angel, and Donna into the entire episode, even starting just a little bit in the episode prior to Exit Wounds (all you need to know for THAT episode is that they were in a warehouse that blew up...that's really it, the rest will be explained in the chapters :)). As for whether Angel will actually end up meeting Alice and Stephen, well, we'll have to wait and see }:)


	25. Exit Wounds: When It All Falls Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This Episode contains reference to torture and abuse :(

Jack got quickly out of the SUV the team had taken to the warehouse that the signals Tosh had found were coming from, he wanted to get this over and done with quickly, he had things to do, people to see, but the Earth _had_ to be defended…and with the Doctor's piloting, he was sure he'd end up seeing Angel sometime next month.

"Gwen," Ianto Jones, a former administrator of Torchwood One who had practically begged Jack to allow him to join Torchwood Three, left a message on Gwen Cooper's phone, a lovely Welsh woman, police officer, who had stumbled upon Torchwood and become an asset to the team, "We've texted you the location, we're querying four or five signs of life, definitely non-human. Get here as soon as you can."

"So, sure they're not Weevils?" Owen Harper asked, looking at Jack, those creatures were tricky, usually living in the sewers but vicious when they attacked which usually left _him_ to patch everyone up. Owen was the resident medical expert for the team, previously a doctor till an alien caused the death of his fiancé and Jack had found him and brought him onboard

"Don't think so," Toshiko 'Tosh' Sato answered instead, the technological guru of the bunch, had been arrested by UNIT after she was forced to build a sonic modulator for a terrorist organization, till Jack got her out, "Different energy patterns, can't make sense of it. Not a species we've encountered before."

"Well let's hope they're friendly then."

"Owen, Ianto," Jack turned, taking command, "Take the other side of the building, check the upper floors," he nodded to Tosh as they ran off, "Toshiko with me."

She followed closely behind as they entered the building, looking around, their guns out, ready for whatever aliens might be hiding in there. They explored every level till they reached the top one, meeting up on either end of a hall, only one room left to check. They nodded at each other, rushing into the room, aiming their guns…

Only to see a small silver box on the ground, counting down from 20, a bomb!

"We need to get out!" Owen shouted, pushing Tosh out the door, always concerned for her first and foremost.

"We'll never make it out in time," Ianto countered.

Jack looked around, as the time hit 10, when he heard it…a faint wheezing noise…

"Run!" he shoved them, "That way!" he pointed, vaguely seeing an imprint of a large telephone box appear at the end of the hall, "Go!"

"What?" Tosh shook her head but was pushed on, the four of them running.

"Get in!" he cried…

And the doors opened, the four of them leaping in, landing on the ground, when a beep went off and the bomb exploded.

Tosh rolled onto her back to see a ginger woman shutting the door, the flames just outside it, before the room shook again and they all held onto each other, expecting to be blown up.

"There we go!" a voice shouted and the three non-immortal humans opened the eyes they'd squeezed shut to see a man in pinstriped brown suit pull a lever at a console, "Safe and sound!"

And then they noticed…the room was enormous! But…that box, they'd briefly glimpsed it as they ran for it, it was so small, looked a bit like a police box now that they thought about it, but still. What?! And how were they still alive?

"Alright there Jack?" the ginger woman called as she reached out a hand to help Jack to his feet.

The team just watched, stunned, as Jack jumped up and, using the hand he was holding, pulled the ginger into his arms, lifting her up as he spun her around, hugging her, "I'm brilliant! You have no idea how glad I am to see you!" he cheered, setting her down but hugging her again, "I could kiss you!"

"I'm right here Jack," the man in the pinstripe suit called, "You kiss her I'll have the TARDIS throw you out!"

Jack rolled his eyes and put his arm around the ginger woman's shoulders, "Yeah, like she'd," he nodded at the woman in question, "Let you do that to me."

"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Owen demanded as he sat up on the floor, Tosh still shaking beside him as Ianto stared at the bigger-on-the-inside room.

"Oh he's cheery," the man remarked.

"And you're rude," the ginger stepped away from Jack and walked over to the man, slipping an arm around his waist which made him beam.

"I'm Donna," another ginger woman, slightly older, stepped over to them, helping Tosh to her feet, "Sorry about him, like she said, he's rude and'll forget to introduce himself, and Angel just gets distracted by him a lot."

"Oi!" the man pouted while the other ginger, Angel Donna had said, just nodded and agreed, "That's true."

"Sorry," Ianto stood as well, snapping himself out of his shock, "But…who exactly are you?"

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor grinned, "And this is my Mate, the Angel."

"That's not what they're supposed to call me," Angel reminded him with a poke to the side.

"Oh, right," he grinned, "Well, go on," he nudged her, "Say it," he wiggled his finger at her nose, "You know you've been dy…" he swallowed, "You've wanted to for ages."

Angel smiled and looked up at the team just picking themselves up, "Hello, it's nice to meet you, I'm Angie Harkness."

The team's eyes widened as they stared at her, Angie Harkness…Jack's baby sister…

"I usually go by Angel though," Angel added, "Or Angela Jones."

"Technically speaking," the Doctor cut in, "It's THE Angel of Gallifrey. Or, the Time Lady Angel. Or my Mate, whichever you prefer."

Angel smiled, "I like the last one."

The Doctor beamed at her, "Me too."

"Time Lady?" Tosh shook her head.

"You said she was your sister," Ianto looked at Jack.

"She _is_ ," Jack nodded, "I met Angie and the Doc after I went rogue from the Time Agency," he explained to them, "Travelled with them for a while, got to know them, and Angel…" he smiled at her, "She just grew to be like my little sister."

"Like you're my big brother," Angel smiled at him.

"He um," Tosh began, "He talks about you ALL the time."

"He never STOPS talking about you," Owen grumbled.

The Doctor beamed at that, pleased to know that Jack still spoke of Angel often.

Angel though, blushed and looked at the team, "Sorry but…which one of you is Ianto?" she looked between Owen and Ianto. She knew, of course she knew, but the Doctor didn't know that she'd kept tabs on Jack that entire time he'd thought she thought he'd died.

Ianto glanced at the team before hesitantly holding up a hand, "Me."

Angel walked over to him, standing before him with her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, searching his eyes for something, making him shift uneasily before she crossed her arms, trying her very best to look intimidating but to everyone besides Ianto she just looked adorable, "Are you very careful that you don't step on Jack's toes as his _dance_ partner?"

"ANGIE!" Jack cried from behind her as the Doctor laughed hysterically, revenge was sweet!

"Um…" Ianto frowned, not entirely sure what she was talking about but then again, Jack had mentioned his sister was rather odd in her phrasings. He just assumed it had something to do with him being careful not to hurt Jack, "Yes?"

She beamed, "Good, now one more test…" she stepped closer...

And hugged him tightly.

Ianto blinked, a bit startled, but returned the hug when he saw Jack smiling at him over Angel's shoulders.

"Brilliant," Angel whispered as she pulled way, "VERY nice hug," she told Ianto before turning to Jack, "I approve."

"Glad you do," Jack laughed moving over to Angel and grabbing her around the middle, hugging her from behind as he lifted her up and spun her around, making her laugh, making the team smile to see him so happy.

"How did you do that though, just…appear?" Owen shook his head, "And what is this place?"

"This is the TARDIS," Angel explained as Jack set her down once more, "She's our ship."

" _Our_ ship," the Doctor smiled, reaching out and pulling Angel from Jack's hold and to him, wrapping his arms around her from behind, holding her back to his front as he rested his chin on her head, "I LOVE the sound of that."

"It can travel anywhere in space and time," Jack added, "Just appears with that weird noise…"

"The brakes," Angel explained, "It's the brakes, the Doctor always leaves them on."

"But how did you know to go there?" Owen continued, it was really bothering him how they just…appeared. He was grateful for it, yeah, but he didn't like the idea of someone watching him…

"She's psychic," the Doctor winked.

Owen scoffed, "There's no such thing."

Donna crossed, "One minute we were all set to land in the Plass and the next Angel was shouting that we need to go to some warehouse in the middle of nowhere and then she ran to the doors and…"

Jack just laughed, "You're an angel Ang."

Angel gave him a smile, "Need to live up to my title, don't I?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, I sort of like Angie Harkness better."

She laughed, before gasping, "Oh!" she grabbed Donna's arm and pulled her over to Jack, "I need to introduce you to Donna," she smiled, putting her hand on Donna's shoulder, "Donna meet our brother Jack, Jack, our new sister Donna."

Donna and Jack nodded along before Angel's words reached them, and they stared at her, "Brother?" Donna shouted, the man was too handsome!

"Sister?" Jack gaped at the same time, how was he going to flirt now?

Angel nodded, "Jack is my older brother in every way that matters," she told Donna, and then looked at Jack, "And Donna became my sister because she had to be the Doctor's companion."

Jack looked at Donna and eyed her appraisingly, she _did_ have a resemblance to Angel what with the ginger hair, "I've got another sister then," he hummed, "Well mom's sure got some explaining to do."

"And who are your friends?" the Doctor asked, stepping over to the gingers, nodding at the team who were still partially in shock, staring up at the room.

Jack grinned, "Owen, medical director, Toshiko…"

"Tosh," Tosh smiled.

"Technological expert, and Ianto," Jack put his arm around Ianto, "Our administrator, maker of the best coffee in the Universe."

"And your dance partner," Angel added.

Jack blushed faintly, "Yeah, and that. There's also Gwen, but she's home with her guy Rhys…"

"No she's not," Angel shook her head.

They looked at her.

She just smiled and led them over to the console, bringing up the monitor where they could see a car pulling up to the warehouse. A frantic woman, who vaguely resembled Gwyneth to the Doctor, got out and ran towards the smoking debris that was the warehouse with a slightly plump man running after her.

"You should probably tell her you're not buried in there," Angel frowned at the building, "It doesn't look safe."

"On it," the Doctor grinned, moving to the console and setting some controls, Angel helping, even Jack, and Donna a bit, impressing the Time Agent that the ginger also could fly the TARDIS even just a little.

~8~

"Oh my God," Gwen panted, her hands in her hair as she stared at the wreckage. She'd been late, overslept, just got a call from Ianto about meeting there and, just as they saw the warehouse…it exploded, with her team inside.

"Gwen!" Rhys ran up to her, trying to hold her back from running into it to check for their bodies, "You can't go in there! It's gonna collapse any second."

"But they're in there," she struggled, "I have to…"

Her words were cut off by a wheezing filling the air, a bright blue, police telephone box appearing two feet in front of her as they stared.

A moment later the doors opened and Jack was leaning in the threshold, "I heard someone calling for God," he winked, "You rang?"

"Jack!" Gwen gasped, leaping at him and hugging him tightly, before pulling away and whacking him hard on the arm, "What the hell happened?!"

Jack just laughed and pushed himself out of the box, stepping past Gwen, letting Owen, and Tosh, and Ianto, and Donna, and the Time Lords out as well.

"How did you all fit in that little box?" Rhys asked, "How did that box even get here?!"

"What is he doing here?" Jack eyed Rhys.

"Look, I was late, ok," Gwen huffed, "He gave me a lift. Are you all ok?" she looked at the team, physically touching them to see for herself.

"We're fine," Tosh smiled, hugging Gwen tightly, seeing her worried.

"We were lucky," Owen said.

"Jack's sister saved us," Ianto nodded at Angel.

"Hello," Angel waved at her, "Nice to meet you, Gwen right?"

Gwen just stared at her, "Oh my God," she breathed.

"Tell me, Gwen," the Doctor cut in, his arm around Angel's shoulders, "Are you from an old Cardiff family?"

Gwen blinked, a bit surprised, not quite sure what that had to do with anything, "Yes, all the way back to the 1800s."

"Brilliant," he beamed, looking at Angel, "Spatial genetic multiplicity!"

"You're being rude," Angel smiled at him, "You haven't introduced yourself yet."

"Right yes," he looked at Gwen, "Hello, I'm the Doctor, and this is Donna," he nodded to his other side where Donna was standing.

"And this is a spaceship," Donna nodded at the box, just to get it out there.

"A spaceship?" Rhys gaped.

Jack nodded, "They got us out in time," he told Gwen.

"Jack, who's done this?" Gwen asked him, concerned and confused.

Just as Jack went to answer, his Vortex Manipulator beeped. He held it up and a hologram of a man in an old-fashioned soldier's uniform appeared, his hair slicked back, the team groaned, clearly knowing the man while the time travelling trio stared, confused.

"Who's that?" the Doctor frowned.

"Captain John Hart," Owen grumbled, "Ex-Time Agent and ex-lover of Jack's."

"Jack, what does he want?" Gwen groaned.

"Oh, déjà vu!" the man in the hologram smirked, "Or did I say that already? Hey, team. Course, there might be a few less of you by now…" well at least they knew it was a recording, "Don't know if you liked my little gift. Course, you can't die. And with all that life, all that time, you can't spare any for me. Oh! Say hi to the family," the hologram hit a button on his own manipulator and another hologram appeared of a man, who looked surprisingly like Jack, standing there, his hands bound, in an old jumpsuit, worn from age and dirt, bruises on his face, scars on his neck.

"No...it _can't_ be," Jack breathed.

"Jack…" Angel stepped beside him, staring at the second hologram for some reason, "Who is he?"

"Been a while since you've seen your brother, eh, Jack," John smirked.

"Gray?" Jack stared, his eyes filling with tears.

Angel's eyes widened as she stared at the hologram, taking Jack's hand in her own. Jack had a brother…she knew he had a daughter, he'd promised to introduce her to her and his grandson, and she knew he _had_ a brother, he'd told her, but…he'd implied the boy had died. Yet there he was, and…she felt her stomach unsettle, there was something…wrong about him…he wasn't like Jack at all…

"Ok, here's what's going to happen," John continued, "Everything you love, everything you treasure, will die," Jack squeezed Angel's hand at that, "I'm going to tear your world apart, Captain Jack Harkness, piece by piece. Starting now. Maybe _now_ you'll wanna spend some time with me."

Gray blinked out, just as he'd looked up where Jack was, John following.

"We need to go, now!" Jack turned around, only to see that the SUV was too close to the warehouse, the building partially collapsed on it, crushing it.

"Bastard John's taken out the SUV," Owen grunted.

"Looks like he's in Torchwood," Ianto called, looking at a scanner in Tosh's hand.

Tosh nodded, "I'm getting readings of Rift activity all over the city. Major Rift flares at St. Helen's Hospital, the Police Headquarters, and the Central IT Server Station…"

Gwen pulled out her phone as it rang, one of her fellow officers, "Hey, Andy?"

"Gwen, you've gotta get here right now! I'm serious, we need you."

"Ok, I'm on my way, alright?" she hung up and looked at Jack, "This is him, isn't it? This Captain John, or whatever he likes to call himself."

"We need to get out of here" Jack shouted, spinning around.

"We can take my car," Rhys offered.

"We'll never fit 9 people in it," Jack shook his head, "It's too small..."

When the Doctor cleared his throat behind him.

Jack turned, watching as the Doctor smirked and nudged the doors to the TARDIS open, "All aboard," he called.

Jack smiled and ran into the box, Angel laughing as she joined the Doctor by the doors, "Go on," she nodded to the others to head in as well, "Plenty of room."

"You think we're all gonna fit in here?" Rhys scoffed.

Donna laughed and took the man's arm as he hesitated, "Wait till you see it!" she led him in, Gwen and Rhys staring at the larger space beyond.

"Doc, take me to Torchwood, then drop Tosh and Ianto off at the central server building, Gwen, the police station, and Owen, the hospital."

"Jack," Angel stepped beside him, taking his hand as he started putting in coordinates, "It's a trap, all of it."

Jack kissed her forehead, "I know, so I need you guys to watch my team for me," he looked between her, Donna, and the Doctor, "No one else I trust."

The Doctor nodded, "I can take the hospital with Owen is it?" he looked at the man who nodded, "I'm a doctor after all, Donna, why don't you go with Tosh and Ianto…"

"But I can't even med a fuse!" Donna reminded him, there was little she'd be able to do in a server building.

"Supertemp can do anything she sets her mind to," Angel reminded her, "Right?" she nudged her.

Donna sighed and smiled, "Right Supergirl."

"I suppose I get to go with Jack then?" Angel smiled.

"NO!" Jack and the Doctor both shouted.

She frowned, "Why?"

"You don't know what John's capable of Angie," Jack squeezed her hand, "I'd rather have you with Gwen in a police station…"

"Actually, maybe she should go to the hospital instead of me," the Doctor remarked, "Too many people running around with guns in a police station…"

"Oi!" Gwen glared at him for the slight.

"But like you said Doc," Jack countered, "YOU'RE a doctor, you can help more at a hospital."

"I'll be fine," Angel promised, kissing the Doctor quickly, "I'll be in a room full of people dedicated to helping and protecting others, think of it that way," he sighed but nodded, kissing her again, as she turned to Jack, "What about you?"

"I'm gonna go reason with John," Jack said.

"He just tried to kill us!" Owen shouted.

"I was the only one who could ever control him. That's why the Time Agency partnered us."

"Sounds familiar," the Doctor remarked, smiling at Angel as he kissed her hair, he was known to fly off the handle, get worked up, get frustrated, Angel was really the only one who kept him balanced and in control. Lord knew what he would be without her.

Rhys blinked, "Did you just say _Time Agency_? Don't tell me that's based in Cardiff too?!"

Angel blinked and turned to him, "And you're IN a time machine now."

"I'm in a what?!"

"Hold on!" the Doctor cut in, pulling a lever as the TARDIS took off, sending them crashing all over the place.

"Why's he doing this Jack?" Tosh shouted over the noise, "What does he want?"

"That's what I'm going to go ask," he said, his voice determined.

~8~

Jack stood outside the door to the Torchwood command center, taking a deep breath before entering, the door rolling away to let him in, only to hear 'I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper' by Sarah Brightman playing and John on the upper level waving a scarf over his head, dancing to it, "Come on! Sing along! It's our song!"

"We don't have a song," he stated, "And if we _did_ have a song, it wouldn't be _this_ song."

John pouted and put down the scarf, "You're no fun!" he raised his hand and pressed a button on his own manipulator, which beeped and turned off the music.

"Thank you."

"I've been here quite a while, what kept you?" he asked, heading down the stairs to join him.

"We all survived."

"I can see that," John eyed him appreciatively, "You know, you look pretty good for someone who just got crushed by a building."

"We didn't," Jack smirked, "We weren't even inside…"

John frowned, "You were, my scanners picked you up on the prototypes…"

"Yeah, well, if you're gonna set off explosions, make sure your target doesn't have a psychic for a sister," he crossed his arms, "She saw it coming and came to get us out just in time."

"What do you mean 'sister?'" John shook his head.

Jack shook his in return, not about to let him in on it, "What do you want?"

"I want you to know that I love you."

"Funny way of showing it, you know, my sister just gives me hugs."

John stared at him a moment as to why he kept bringing up a sister when he knew he _only_ had a brother, before turning around, "No, seriously. You have to understand. I really _do_ love you," he spun around, two machine guns in hand, and fired them off at Jack, shooting him right in the chest, till he fell over into a small bit of water on the ground, dead.

John walked over, looking solemnly down at the man's prone form, "Because this...is gonna get nasty."

~8~

"Just…try to keep calm," Gwen was saying to Angel as she led the girl and Rhys into the station, the Doctor having just dropped them off, "You'll probably see some bad things…"

"I'll be ok Gwen," Angel smiled at the woman for her concern. They stepped into the station to see police everywhere, blood everywhere, a body lying on the steps, two in the hall, medical examining them, taking pictures.

"Andy!" Gwen shouted, spotting a fellow officer.

"They just appeared out of nowhere, across the whole building," Andy ran to her side, "They weren't human, least not like any human I've ever seen. The whole station's in shock. Four most senior officers, murdered. Everyone's running round like headless chickens," Gwen stepped past him, and then he noticed Rhys, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Rhys, what you doing here? And who're you?" he looked at Angel.

"I'm Angel, nice to meet you," she smiled, despite the gruesome scene before them.

"This is a crime scene," Andy shook his head, "And a _confidential_ crime scene at that. If it gets out what happened here, there'll be a citywide panic…"

"Rhys isn't gonna go blabbing," Gwen told him, "And Angel's not going to say."

"I'm keeping more secrets than you'd ever believe," Rhys nodded.

"Like what?" Andy scoffed.

"Like a Time Agency based in Cardiff! And she's an alien with a huge phone box that travels though time!" he pointed at Angel.

"It's not actually based in Cardiff," Angel patted Rhys on the shoulder, not disputing his second statement.

"Brilliant secret," Andy rolled his eyes, "I ask, you tell. Well done," before he frowned, "And what do you mean she's an alien?" he looked at Angel, "She don't look like those things, she looks like us!"

"I'm a Time Lady," she smiled, "Technically you look like me."

Andy opened his mouth to comment on that when they heard a growling through a door a few feet away. They walked over, Gwen cautiously opening the peephole to see Weevils inside, growling and snarling and rushing around the room, about four of them. Angel pulled Gwen back when one caught sight of her and lunged at the peephole.

"Bloody hell," Rhys breathed, "What _are_ they?"

"Weevils," Gwen stated.

"Tell me you're joking," Rhys breathed.

"Weevils," Angel frowned, thinking about that species, "They…live in the sewers don't they?"

"Aren't you an alien?" Andy looked at Angel, "Shouldn't you know where they live?"

Angel blinked, "I'm a _Time Lady_ not a Weevil Queen," she shook her head, "And I didn't do very well in school when it came to learning about other species, well, except humans…"

"You studied us in school?" Andy stared at her.

"We studied loads of species in school," she nodded, "But I didn't really pay attention much."

"Wait…you went to school?"

She laughed, "Andy, almost every planet in the galaxy has an education system of some sort, most important thing, being clever."

"Don't mind if I subdue them, do you?" Gwen asked, getting them back to point, as she pulled out a canister of something.

"Be my guest," Andy gestured at the door.

"What is that?" Angel asked, putting her hand on Gwen's to stop her a moment, "It's not going to hurt them will it?"

"Hurt THEM?" Andy gaped as he and Rhys said the same thing.

"They just _killed_ people!" Andy added.

"That's no excuse to kill them either," Angel shook her head, "They're scared and frightened, they don't like being out of the sewers, someone _forced_ them out."

"How do _you_ know _that_?" Andy eyed her, suspicious now, here was an alien who seemed to know what the other aliens were thinking.

"She's psychic," Gwen answered, Jack had told them ALL about Angel, "It's a sedative," she reassured the girl, before tossing it into the hatch, closing it, a small bit of gas emitting under the door. She waited a moment till it cleared before looking in to see they were passed out and turned back to Andy as Angel moved to check the hole herself, "They killed the four _most senior_ officers?"

"Almost like it was targeted," he nodded.

"It was," Angel remarked, staring at the Weevils, "Like I said, someone forced them out of their homes," she stood up quickly, swaying at bit, closing her eyes as she held her head.

"You alright?" Gwen moved beside her to steady her.

"Fine," she nodded, she'd begged the Doctor not to tell Jack what was wrong, not wanting to worry him while he defended the Earth, "Just…stood too quickly."

~8~

"Tosh, report where you are," Tosh looked down at the sound of Gwen calling over the comms..

"Just entering the Central Server," she replied, "No sign of Rift activity yet."

"So you lot protect the city?" Donna asked as she followed Ianto and Tosh into the building, "Like UNIT?"

"Yeah," Tosh nodded, smiling, "Much quieter than UNIT though, there's only five of us."

"MUCH quieter," Donna nodded, "You're not shoving people to their knees in broad daylight and waving guns around at them."

"So you've met UNIT then?" Ianto glanced at her.

Donna smiled, "Martha Jones called us up to help her with some Sonterens, er, Sont _arans_."

"How is she?" Tosh asked, Martha had come to work for them a little while ago, on loan from UNIT.

"That was you?" Ianto questioned at the same time, they'd been monitoring the Sontaran attack, the gas and the ATMOS, ready to step in if UNIT failed, but they'd succeeded at the last moment. Not to sound pompous but, they weren't really expecting UNIT to succeed.

"Oh yeah," Donna laughed, "I was the one on the Sontaran ship that got the teleport working."

"That's incredible, what was it like up there?" Tosh asked.

"Terrifying, not quite as bad as this though," she murmured as they entered a darkened room, full of computers and rows of wires, everything dark, and eerie, and quiet, it was weird how much more creepy Earth could be in a room like this than an alien ship was, "What is this place exactly?"

"This building houses servers for the military, police, NHS, even looks after the server systems for the nuclear station at Turnmill," Tosh explained.

"What problem did they report?" Ianto looked at her.

"Ghosts in these server stacks."

"Ghosts?" Donna scoffed, "Isn't that a bit Dickens? Not really alien is it? I mean, it can't be aliens can it? Or are they alien ghosts?"

"I think we're about to find out," Tosh remarked, hearing a faint growling behind them.

They turned slowly to see three men dressed in monk robes and holding scythes, "Huh," Ianto murmured, eyeing them.

"So…not ghosts then?" Donna asked hopefully, if they weren't ghosts then they were solid, then they could be knocked out or something.

"Doesn't look like it," Tosh nodded.

"But aliens then?"

"Could be," Ianto agreed.

"Devils!" one of the monks cried in a deep voice, "Blasphemers! Pray to your heathen God. While in the Lord's name, we cast you out!" they started to advance, their weapons raised…

As Tosh and Ianto just looked at each other and pulled their guns, Donna wincing as they shot the three men down.

"There we are then," Ianto remarked.

"Sorted," Tosh smiled.

"Wasn't that…" Donna frowned, before trailing off.

"What?" Tosh looked at her.

"A bit…weird?"

"No more than usual," Ianto shrugged.

"No I mean," she huffed, trying to think of a way to say it, "Three monks? In a service tower? Stopped by _bullets_?" she shook her head, "Wasn't it a bit…easy?"

Ianto and Tosh looked at each other again, now that they thought about it, it _was_ really random and…very easy…

~8~

"Owen, do you have anything to report?" Gwen called over the comm. as Owen walked through the halls of the hospital, following a female doctor down the stairs, the Doctor casually following, his hands in his pockets, whistling a little tune. It was really starting to irritate Owen, but it was all the Doctor could do to distract himself from the fact that something was going on…and Angel wasn't with him, he wasn't with her, where he could protect her.

But she'd been right, she was in a room full of people who would die to protect others, probably as safe as she could be when he wasn't there to watch over her himself. And…she was in one spot, in one small building, there wouldn't be much running around, there would be ample food and drink and chairs for her to rest in…she wouldn't be stressing herself out which was what he wanted. He didn't want her to overexert herself.

"We've got some activity in the basement," Owen replied.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic and scanned it around just as they reached the bottom level, "Yep, picking up some alien DNA," he nodded, "Ooh," he hissed through his teeth, seeing the results, "You've got a Hoix loose," he grimaced, "Hate Hoix. Last one we met tried to eat Angel. Well, I say tried, I wasn't letting _that_ happen. And he was probably trying to eat the pork chop she was holding. Probably shouldn't have let her do that, don't like her facing down dangerous aliens. Good thing I sent her to the station with Gwen, eh?" he nudged Owen, who looked highly unamused.

"Do you _ever_ stop talking?" he asked the man with a huff before walking off after the female doctor as she stopped by a set of doors.

"Only for one thing," the Doctor told him, ambling on after him, "And I'm NOT taking a kiss from anyone but Angel."

Owen rolled his eyes at the man, Jack was right, 'the Doctor' could certainly gob on and on if given the time.

"Coming back from a fag break," the female doctor explained as they stepped up, "Saw the door open and there it is! Chewing through the cables. So I locked it in."

The Doctor grinned and knocked on the door…only for a rattling to sound inside, like something dropping something, and a Hoix slammed itself against the doors, making Owen and the woman jump back, but the Doctor just lean in closer to look at it.

"What the hell is it?" the woman gasped.

"Short answer?" Owen sighed, "It's an alien."

"Alien?!"

"Technically, it's a Hoix, I just said that, didn't I just say that?" the Doctor looked back at her before shrugging and turning back, watching the Hoix turn and leave, back to whatever itw was trying to eat, "Hoix, carnivorous, well, omnivorous creatures from a little known galaxy half a Universe away, lives to eat, everything it comes across. Sort of like the Racnoss but more of an animalistic mind to it, doesn't communicate, just eats. Managed to track one down to a warehouse once for a friend," he glanced at the woman again, "You wouldn't happen to have any water and oil would you?"

"What'?"

"Hoix are allergic to water mixed with oil."

"They are?" Owen blinked, that would have been useful to know, "Caught one in Barry last year in a kebab shop, it went through seven doner sticks in 20 minutes. Could have used that then," he muttered, before glancing at the woman, "Now, have you got the keys?"

"No need," the Doctor grinned, holding up the sonic, "Not a deadlock so I can get us in easy peasy."

"What's that?" the woman asked as Owen nodded at the Doctor and pulled a rolled up cloth out of his pocket, taking out something that looked like a large thin cylinder but with a sharp tip.

"All species sedative," the Doctor scanned it with the sonic, "Nice work."

Owen smirked, "Thank you," he nodded, "Now, food," he glanced at the woman, "You got anything it can eat?"

"Only these," she held up a pack of cigarettes.

"I can do you one better," the Doctor pulled out a raw steak from his pocket.

Owen stared at him, "Why have you got raw meat in your pocket? How did that even fit in there?" it was a decent sized piece of meat.

The Doctor shrugged, grinning like an idiot, "I have no idea."

Owen shook his head, hearing the rattling inside again, no time to waste asking about pockets, "Wish us luck!" he called to the woman as the Doctor soniced the lock and they ran in.

"I'll cover the Hoix," the Doctor said, suddenly serious, "Distract it, you sneak up around it and sedate it."

Owen nodded and stepped to the side, moving around the room.

The Doctor held up the steak, "Hoixy, where are you? Here boy. Come out, come out, wherever you are…"

He smiled as the Hoix appeared and started to inch towards him, its eyes on the steak.

"There you are. Look what I've got. That's it, good boy, come to me. Come on, that's it, here we are…now!" he shouted.

Owen leapt out and stabbed the Hoix in the neck with the sedative, "You really are quite stupid, aren't you?" he asked the alien as it sank to the ground, subdued.

"Oh nice team!" the Doctor held up his hand and high-fived Owen, the two doctors grinning down at the fallen alien.

~8~

Gwen watched Angel as she stood to the side, her arms crossed, staring at the white sheets over the bodies of the four officers, a frown on her face, looking…so sad.

"You alright?" Gwen walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Fine."

Gwen laughed, "Jack was right, you couldn't lie to save your life."

"I just…" she glanced at the bodies, "I don't like death. It's just…so final."

"Happens to us all," Gwen sighed, "Just a natural part of life but," she nudged the girl, "Think of it this way, when we're gone, it gives us more power to watch over the ones we love. Because we never really leave them, we're always with them, protecting them."

Angel smiled, "That's a nice way to think of it."

Gwen nodded, "Being a police officer," she looked around, "You have to be aware that it _could_ happen, at any moment, and you need to be at peace with it."

"You are a brilliant woman Gwen."

Gwen smiled, "I know," she laughed.

Angel laughed as well when her expression grew distant, her smile fading.

"Angel?" Gwen eyed her, "You ok?"

Angel blinked…

... _Jack struggled, dangling between two chains, writhing as he was electrocuted_...

 _...the Torchwood team stood on rooftops, watching as bombs went off all over the city_...

... _Jack grabbed onto John, the two glowing with the Rift energy and disappeared_...

... _Jack gasped as he was stabbed through the gut by a sword_...

"Oh my God," she breathed, grabbing the side of her head as she nearly fell against the wall, a searing pain ripping through her mind as she panted.

"Angel!" Gwen gasped, moving to help her, "Are you alright? What happened?"

Angel could only shake her head, "I have to go..." she breathed, pushing herself off the wall and running off.

' _Doctor!_ '

~8~

Jack, hanging between two chains by his wrists, gasped awake, to find himself restrained, John before him, watching him struggle and thrash, pulling on the chains.

"Comms. and weapons have been removed, in case you're wondering, so no chance of rescue," John remarked.

Jack scoffed, "What part of 'my sister is psychic' did you not understand?" he glared a little at John, "She's knows _exactly_ what you did to me."

John held up his hands, "Then where is she?" he smirked.

"This is a little extreme, don't you think?" Jack asked, not wanting to get into it, if Angel wasn't there at the moment it was because she was either dealing with something herself, not an option because he'd sent her with Gwen to keep her _safe_ , or the Doctor found out and wouldn't let her into a room with a man who loved machine guns, something he would NOT fault him for.

"Oh, what, suddenly you're anti bondage?" John grabbed a photo in a frame, a book-like frame, one photo on one side, another on the other, one of the Doctor, Martha, him, and Angel just after the Year-That-Never-Was, and the other was of Alice and Stephen, not that anyone commented on it, he just told the team it was from a previous mission with Torchwood, that he had to play 'father' for some reason and was friends with the woman and her son, anything to keep his daughter and grandson safe.

"Why are you here?" he nearly barked.

"Well, see... _now_ you're interested in me. It's always the same, nobody cares until you tie them up. Number of reasons, actually. First of all, you were very rude to me," he moved to the computers across from Jack, fiddling with them.

"What?!"

"Very rude indeed. In front of people who barely knew me. You belittled me. Can't let that go."

"You're _serious_?" he scoffed.

"Second…you have all of time. Eternity, essentially. And you _still_ refused to spend time with _me_. After all we've been through together, after all I've _done_ for you."

"Where's Gray? What've you done with my brother?"

John just stared at him, "You don't realize, actions, ramifications, ripples in the pond. It's beyond my control."

"Beyond your control?! Please!"

"It _is_ ," he sighed, "You need to understand that. So…" he resumed his work, "Localize the Rift storms, a few short sharp shocks..."

"Don't touch those controls!" Jack snapped.

"Oi, I'm working here!" John pressed a button on his manipulator and Jack was electrocuted, "If you don't want that again, keep quiet," he turned back to the controls.

"No," Jack called, struggling.

"So, I think we're ready to find a vantage point," John nodded, ignoring Jack, "Bit more power," he plugged a cable into the Rift Manipulator, "Routing the power from the nuclear reactor…and…" he grinned, watching the main column start to rise and fall.

"Hey!" Jack cried.

"And…" John nodded, hitting a button, "We're all set."

"Whatever you're planning, we're gonna stop you," Jack glared.

"Oh," John scoffed, "Ok," he moved around to the front of the computers, crossing his arms, "Go on, then. Stop me. I hope you can, really," he smirked as Jack struggled to break through but couldn't, "No? Alright, let's go get ourselves a good view," he pressed a button on the manipulator and Jack fell to the ground, in pain, John quickly making his way to him and grabbing him by the cuffs, hauling him up and forcing him off, up and up and up, as high as they could go outside Torchwood, into the night, up to the top of a castle tower.

"What the hell are we doing here?" Jack panted.

"This is a good view," John shrugged but then Jack lunged at him…only to be electrocuted again, "I told you, no struggling."

"I can make things right with you."

"You don't understand. You can't _ever_ make this right," he hit a button on his comm., "Attention...Torchwood employees!" he smirked, knowing they were all listening, all over the city, "Evening all! Now, stop what you're doing."

"Jack, what's going on, are you ok?" Gwen came back.

"Jack can't come to the comms. right now. But if you leave a message, I'll be sure and pass it along."

"What've you done to him?" Tosh asked.

"No, no, wrong question. You should be asking…what am I about to do to _you_?"

"Put Jack on right now!" Ianto demanded.

"Eye Candy! That was so masterful, so bossy, so basically…powerless. Get up to the roofs of your buildings. Quickly now, spit spot."

"Why?" Owen asked, though they could hear him running, hear all of them running really.

"'Cos if you don't, you'll miss all the fun. Hold on a minute, do I mean fun or do I mean carnage? I get them confused. Are you running yet? No dawdling now!"

"What're you doing?" Jack eyed him as he pulled out a box, a detonator.

"I'm sorry," John said to him quietly, waiting till he was sure that every member of Torchwood was on a roof somewhere, looking out at the city, even Jack getting up to look, "Now...Cardiff! Isn't it pretty? Doesn't it twinkle so? Take a good look. Remember this...because it all goes so quick."

He held up the box…and pressed it…

And…

Nothing happened.

"What?!" John looked at the box, whacking it, pressing the button again, and again, and again, but still… _nothing_.

"Oh sorry!" the Doctor's voice came over the comm., "Didn't anyone ever tell you never to go to war against a psychic? And my Mate is the most powerful one of them all."

"I'm really not," Angel said modestly, "But I DID know about the bombs John," she continued, John looking stunned, "And what you did to Jack, that wasn't nice of you to hurt my brother like that."

He looked at Jack, stunned as the man just grinned at him, smirked really, "Told you."

"We diffused them," the Doctor continued, "Angel knew _exactly_ where to look and with a little help from my trusty sonic screwdriver," there was a soft whirring noise of the sonic going, "The whole thing went kaput."

"We're not about to let you destroy the city John, I'm sorry," Angel told him, "We've found all 15 of the bombs, no one here will die today. No one."

John swallowed hard, Jack eyeing him as his hand went to his wrist, _not_ to the manipulator but to something _else_ on it, seemingly about to push it.

"No!" Jack lunged forward, not sure what it was, not willing to find out. He grabbed onto John…just as they both started to glow with the Rift energy…and disappeared in a flash of light…

~8~

"What just happened?" Donna's voice asked over the comm., still out there with Tosh and Ianto as the Time Lords ran around the console, the whole box going crazy and sparking wildly at the use of the Rift.

"John's opened the Rift," Angel told them.

"He's transported them both somewhere in time," the Doctor added.

"Jack?" Gwen tried the comm. directly linked to Jack, "Jack, can you hear me? Are you there? Jack!"

But there was no reply.

"Huge Rift flare over at the castle," Tosh reported, "It's been generated by the Rift Manipulator at Torchwood!"

"Oh you're good!" the Doctor grinned, when another spark went off.

"Something bad though," Ianto cut in, "John's routed all the power from the nuclear plant to the Rift Manipulator, all the systems are running at full power, they're gonna overheat."

"Right," Gwen sighed, taking charge, "Tosh, Ianto, Donna, you have to stabilize the nuclear power station, make that a priority. Owen, what's it like at the hospital?"

"Half the power's generated by the plant," he sighed, "We're losing more and more of it, but the backup generators are holding for now.

"Ok, all of you, listen to me. We're gonna fix this, we're gonna stop the plant, get the power back, we're gonna find Jack, and we're gonna punish John. Now, I need you to be careful. Ok? Where are you, Jack? Where are you?"

"Gwen?" Angel called, "We might be able to find Jack," she told the woman, "We'll run some scans see if we can track the backlash of the Rift."

"Good, do it," Gwen replied.

"I love it when you talk technical," the Doctor grinned at Angel, kissing her quickly, before they ran around the console, now calmed, and tried to find Jack.

~8~

Jack leapt to his feet, to find himself in the middle of a wide field, in the day, trees here and there, in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

"We're safe," John called as he walked out from the trees towards him, "Now, before you do anything rash, you have to hear..."

Jack just punched him in the face, "Take us back now!"

"No way. We have to be this far to escape the trigger signal!"

"What?" Jack shook his head, not understanding.

John just pulled the sleeve of his shirt back and held out his arm to Jack, showing him something, a wrist device bonded to his wrist, _literally_ fused to his _skin_ , "Look at it! Go on. It's bonded to my skin. I can't get it off. Open it."

Jack flipped it open, staring at the tech, "Whoa."

"Ninth generation detonator," John nodded.

Jack stepped back quickly, pointing at him, "You're a walking bomb!"

"Add to that a surveillance circuit, to monitor my every word and action, and he has me doing…anything I'm told. 'Cos if I don't...boom!" he threw out his hands, "I'm not my own man. I thought you'd _see_ that. But oh, no, you're so self-obsessed you thought I'd _want_ to blow up your stupid city! When I could be experiencing _17 simultaneous pleasures_ in the Lotus Nebula! Not that it even did any good with your bloody so-called sis…ter…" he trailed off, seeing something behind Jack, "Uh oh...just run."

"Oh, please, that is the oldest trick in the book," Jack shook his head, not about to turn around.

"Jack?" someone called behind him.

He turned to see the man from the hologram, his brother, walking towards him from across the field, "Gray?!" he breathed, remembering the time he'd lost his brother. They'd been running from an alien attack, he'd slipped from his hold and, by the time he'd realized that his brother wasn't with him anymore…it was too late.

"I never stopped believing," Gray smiled, "I always knew we'd find each other again!" he reached out and pulled Jack into the biggest hug of his life.

"I'm sorry," Jack murmured, his eyes filled with tears, seeing the scars on his brother's neck, he'd been such a young boy, a _child_ , Stephen's age, and the aliens that took him…they were notorious for torture.

Gray smirked, only John able to see it over Jack's shoulder, "'Sorry's not good enough," he spat, stabbing Jack in the stomach with a sword, watching emotionlessly as Jack fell to the ground, twitching, the sword still in his chest before he died.

He looked up at John, "Get a shovel."

~8~

"Go!" Ianto called as Donna held a torch behind him, letting him fiddle with some wires, giving him light.

"It won't work!" Tosh huffed as she tried her own controls.

Ianto tweaked another wire and sighed, "Nothing, sorry."

"What do we do now?" Donna looked at them, she really _was_ out of her depth here, she had no idea what to do or what she _could_ do to help, she really could barely mend a fuse and this was nuclear physics or something.

"We need to re-start the Turnmill servers," Tosh told her.

"And what if you can't?"

"Then the reactor goes into meltdown."

"Then I'm going up there," Ianto nodded.

"What?" Donna gaped.

"Ianto!" Tosh shook her head.

"Look, if we can't fix the remote servers, there must be something I can do on-site to prevent nuclear meltdown," Ianto reasoned.

"That could be suicide!"

"Are we gonna discuss it, or are we gonna do it?"

"Ok, but we _both_ go."

"No," Donna cut in, "The THREE of us go."

"Donna…" Tosh began, shaking her head.

Donna, while not a part of Torchwood, had proven herself to have the spirit of one of the team, she had to have that to travel with the Doctor and Angel, but this…this was really dangerous.

"Look," Donna cut in, "I know I may not be able to help, but Angel's my sister, we're close, if anything goes wrong, she'll sense it, I know she will. She'll sense me more than you," she explained, "If I go, if anything goes wrong, she'll know to come and get us."

The Torchwood team looked at each other before nodding, at least they had some semblance of safety now. That Donna woman, they could almost see her as Jack's sister as well, she really was remarkably brave.

"Right then, let's go," Ianto nodded as they headed for the door.

~8~

Jack had woken to life only a few short minutes ago and was standing, shackles on his ankles, his hands bound, before Gray, John fixing them on while he just stared past him at his brother, "I looked for you," he told the boy, "I searched for you for _years_. You were my _first_ thought, every day."

"What are you expecting, hmm?" Gray nearly sneered, "A loving reunion? Absolution? Me to say, 'It's ok, brother, I forgive you.' Those creatures, they lived to _torture_. They kept us just on the verge of life. I'd lie there, hemmed in by corpses, praying to _become_ one. Because you...let go...of my hand, remember?"

Jack swallowed hard, tears in his eyes, he _had_ let go, "If I could swap with you, I would."

"Remember it again. I believed you'd come, but you never did. How long before you gave up, hmm? Months? Years? Decades?"

"What do you want from me?" Jack shook his head.

"I want you to _suffer_. I want your life. This is Cardiff. 27AD. The city will be built here, over the next 2,000 years. Your grave will be the city's foundations. Your blessing of life becomes a curse. Each time you revive, with a throatful of earth, each time it chokes you afresh, and you thrash on the edge of death, you think of me."

"Alright," John cut in, growing more upset with the plans for Jack, "Calling a halt now, I can't let you do this," he walked to Gray but the man just shoved Jack into the pit that had been dug.

"Fill the grave," he ordered John.

"No way," he said firmly.

"Then the detonator on your arm gets activated," he glared at the man, moving his hand over the controls to the bomb.

John looked down at Jack, unhappy, but Jack just nodded at him to do it. John's lips twitched into an almost smile before he took of a green ring he wore and kissed it, tossing it into the hole, to Jack.

"I don't need it," Jack told the man.

"What's that?" Gray demanded.

"It's, er, sentimental value," John replied, before starting to shovel the dirt in, Jack closing his eyes, letting it happen as Gray watched him get buried alive.

~8~

Deep in the Torchwood vaults, there was a flash of gold Rift energy as Gray stepped out. He turned, looking around at the cells around him, Weevils within.

~8~

Rhys walked through the police station till he saw Gwen sitting in a back room, curled up, clearly upset, "Skulking, is it?"

"Still no word from Jack," she said as he moved to sit beside her, "Or Angel and the Doctor. They haven't found him," Angel had run off after she'd had a little funny moment, the Doctor appearing moments later and the two disappeared, she knew now it was to stop the bombs. But they hadn't come back and they hadn't found Jack.

"Hey, it's gonna be fine."

"What if it's not? What if this is how it all ends?"

"Gwen?" Angel's voice called through the comm..

"Angel!" she gasped, "Have you found him?"

"No," the Doctor answered, "All the activity with the Rift is skewing our sensors, we're just getting static. That's why we needed to contact you. Is any of the team back at Torchwood?"

"No," she frowned, "Why?"

"We've got a Rift activation alert from inside the Hub, mirroring the pattern from earlier when Jack disappeared."

"D'you think it could be him?" she straightened.

"We're about to check it out," Angel cut in, "Do you want to come with us. I know you're worried about Jack."

"Yes, definitely," she nodded, getting up. She quickly kissed Rhys and ran out of the room, out of the station, to where an old blue box was appearing on the sidewalk.

~8~

The TARDIS appeared in the middle of Torchwood, Gwen stepping out with her gun ready just in case it _wasn't_ Jack. She still couldn't get over how the box travelled in time and space, but there were bigger things to worry about. The Time Lords stepped out after her, following her, the Doctor getting distracted by all the technology around while Angel just frowned and looked behind them…

"Hello John," she said.

Gwen spun around, her gun ready, as the Doctor pulled Angel to him at the sight of the man standing there.

"You took your time," he remarked.

"On your knees!" Gwen shouted, aiming at him.

"Honestly, it's just sex, sex, sex with you people!"

Gwen cocked the gun and aimed it back at him, "Now!"

"Gwen don't!" Angel rushed past the Doctor and right in front of the gun…severely giving the Doctor dual heart attacks at the sight of her standing before John, between him and Gwen, "Don't!"

"Angel _move_!" Gwen demanded.

"No, I'm not going to let you hurt him."

"He took your brother!" Gwen shouted, her arms starting to shake, "Why would you defend him?!"

"And that's just it," the Doctor stepped forward and pushed her hand down, not about to let her continue to hold a gun at his Mate, "She wouldn't defend him if she didn't have a reason!" and with that, he moved to stand beside her, blocking John from Gwen, "And…what reason is that?" he asked her a little quietly.

Angel shook her head, "He's not himself," Angel explained to Gwen, thankful she didn't pick up the gun again, "Really, he's being _forced_ to do this, like the Weevils were forced out."

"How do you know?" Gwen demanded.

"Psychic," the Doctor nudged her.

"Thief," she hip bumped him back, "But really Gwen just…look," she turned and held out a hand to John, the man hesitantly putting his arm in her hand, letting her pull the sleeve back and show Gwen the thing fused to his skin, "It's a bomb."

"How did you know that was there?" John asked her, "You didn't even _see_ me before now…"

"She really IS psychic," the Doctor told him.

"And you thought Jack was lying," she murmured to him, startling him as he really _had_.

"Speaking of Jack, I know where he is," John began, "He's…"

"Buried alive, somewhere beneath this city?" Angel asked, the answer just coming to her now. She wished she'd sensed that BEFORE they'd spent all that time trying to find Jack through time via the Rift.

John stared at her a moment, "…yes," before he shook his head, "I came back to help you. You have to believe me," he looked at Gwen, "It's Gray, Jack's brother, that's been doing all this…" he looked at the Doctor as he soniced the bomb, "I wouldn't bother, it's molecularly bonded to my skin. I had to do what he wanted."

The Doctor scoffed, "And I'm very good with a sonic," he remarked, flashing it, "This is gonna hurt…"

John hissed as he felt something loosen on his arm, the molecules unbonding, but taking the skin with it as he ripped the bomb off him and threw it away, despite it being deactivated by the Doctor, "Oh my God!" he grimaced, gripping his wrist at the pain of his skin coming off, before he took two deep breaths, "He forced me to bury Jack and then he told me I could go anywhere I wanted. I could've run, but I chose to come back here."

"Gray…" Angel began, "What happened to him?"

"They were separated as children. Gray was abducted. When I found him he was chained to the ruins of a city on the Bedlam Outlands...surrounded by corpses. He was the only one left. The creatures had long since gone. Dunno how long he'd been there. I thought I was the rescuing hero. So, it took me too long to realize he'd learned terrible things watching those creatures..."

"Gwen," Angel looked back at her, seeing the woman still distrustful of John, "Please, for now, trust him. He didn't have to come back here. He could've run. But he chose to help us."

Gwen swallowed, Jack had also mentioned Angel was a forgiving soul, but SHE couldn't risk forgiving the wrong person, "You find Jack, I'll let you live," Gwen told him, "But you'd better be quick."

John nodded, holding up his manipulator, "Toshiko. I need you to run a trace for an etheric particle signal NME transmitting at 200 betacycles."

"Gwen, where are you?" Tosh came over the comm., "What's he doing? Where's Jack?"

"Trace that signal, we'll find him."

"It's ok, Tosh," Gwen reassured her, "The Doctor and I've got him covered. Just do as he says."

Tosh sighed and a moment later reported, "No signals even vaguely resembling that."

Angel frowned and glanced over at the TARDIS a moment.

"Uh, no, there _must_ be," John shook his head, that ring he'd given Jack, was a transmitter, "That transmitter was guaranteed for five millennia through three ecological permalayers, it _has_ to still be transmitting. If not, we'll never find him. He'll be buried...forever."

The Doctor just smiled, "Leave it to Angel then."

"What?" Gwen looked over.

"She can do it," he nodded, he hadn't wanted to stress her by asking her before, wanting to use the TARDIS, but that was through space and time, he didn't think she was THAT powerful yet, to sense Jack like that, but she should be able to sense Jack if he was somewhere in the city, "She can find her brother no matter what."

"That's all well and good but feelings and sibling bonds won't do much good," John scoffed.

"You don't understand," Angel sighed, "It goes beyond that. I'm…" she swallowed hard, knowing she'd have to say it, to save Jack, to get them to believe her, "I'm his creator. I have a bond with him that's stronger because…I made him what his is. I can…I can always feel him, where he is, when he's in danger because…he's a part of me."

The Doctor blinked and looked at her, stunned, now it made sense why she was able to hug him at the end of the Universe but not stand Lazarus, JACK was HER creation, made from HER use of the Vortex. But…that also meant she knew the man had been alive all that time, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't sure if we'd meet him again," Angel said, "And I didn't want to think about what I'd done. If I didn't say it, then it was just sibling bonds, but…seeing him, realizing it was more than that…" she shook her head, "I didn't want to admit what I'd done to him had really happened."

"What you did to him might just save his life," Gwen reminded her, "Right then, we need to…"

Suddenly they all hunched over, flinching at a piercing note that rang through the air, forcing them all to cover their ears, even the Time Lords, as the note reached all across the city.

"What the hell is _that_?" Gwen breathed.

~8~

Out in the streets, Weevils emerged from every entrance to the sewers, attacking civilians, men, women, and children as they flooded the streets.

~8~

Gray stood before the Weevils in the holding cells of Torchwood, smirking as he pushed a button on the manipulator he'd taken from Jack, opening the cells, letting them out. They ran past him, ready to find the food they could smell coming from inside Torchwood.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that, in the episode, the Torchwood team was in different areas when the bomb went off. But…this started differently, Jack is more in a rush to get back to Torchwood so I could see him hurrying the team and them all ending up in one spot :) There will also be some slight changes to the episode, but I've given (what I hope are) believable excuses and manipulations of events that will still allow some things to happen while preventing others :)
> 
> And poor Angel, not only is she not feeling well, but her visions seem to be starting to physically hurt her AND her other 'brother' is running around trying to kill people :'( Be prepared for fear, tears, heartbreak, emotional moments, smiles, and more heartbreak in the next chapter }:)


	26. Exit Wounds: Piecing It Back Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This Episode contains references to torture and abuse :(

"I don't think that's good…" Angel pointed to a blinking light on a computer monitor, security cameras of the city, showing the Weevils attacking civilians.

"He's released the Weevils into the lower parts of the city," the Doctor ran to the monitor.

"Oh, my God," Gwen gasped, "What's going on?"

"It's Gray," John swallowed, "He must be here in the city, he said he was gonna take Jack's life, destroy it from the inside out. A Weevil wake-up call could be just the beginning."

"Donna, Ianto, and Tosh are still out there with Owen!" Angel turned to the Doctor, "We need to help them!"

As though hearing her, Ianto came on the comms., "Gwen, can you hear me? The streets are flooded with Weevils, they came out of nowhere. There's no chance we'll get to the nuclear power station in time."

"Ianto," Owen cut in, "Leave it to me. I can get there."

"How?"

"King of the Weevils, remember?"

"King of the Weevils?" Angel frowned, looking at Gwen.

"Long story," she waved her off, "He's fine, but what about Ianto and Tosh and Donna?"

"Leave that to me," the Doctor nodded, running to the TARDIS, "Angel," he called back, tossing her a roll of bandages from his pocket and nodding at John.

~8~

Owen ran out of the hospital, into the middle of the Weevils, all of whom bowed and knelt before him as he ran past.

~8~

"Push!" Rhys shouted as he and the other men and woman of the station shoved against a door, trying to keep the Weevils out, "Will you! Have none of you ever been in a scrum!" they managed to slam it shut and bolt it, "Bloody hell, how many were there? It's like Fort Apache the Bronx in here."

"Apart from the fact that the surrounding forces are savage aliens and we could all die, it's almost exactly the same, yeah," Andy rolled his eyes, "Thanks for that."

~8~

"I am _telling_ you I have run every scan possible, there is no signal traceable," Gwen huffed to John once more as Angel worked on bandaging his wrist with the first aid kit that the Doctor had given her.

"Then try it again, it's _got_ to be there," John said, when he looked over to see Gwen staring at him, "Oi, I'm talking to you."

"Move!" Angel grabbed his hand and pulled him away, towards Gwen, away from the Weevil that had snuck up behind them, forcing them away from the guns.

"You know you've got a real pest problem around here," John remarked.

"Come here," Angel reached out and pulled them to her, close…as a wheezing filled the room and the TARDIS appeared around them, the three of them appearing in the console room to see Ianto, Tosh, and Donna there.

"Angel!" Donna ran over and hugged her tightly, those creatures were horrible! "Oh thank God you're alright."

"Course I am," she smiled, tapping her head, "Psychic, I knew you were coming."

Not really, it hadn't been a vision or feeling or anything, she just…knew the Doctor. He always came when you needed him, just in time. She was secretly suspicious that he really _was_ psychic too.

"Then do you know that I could use a little help?" the Doctor laughed, nodding her to the console, kissing her temple as she moved to his side, helping him.

"What are you doing?" Gwen ran over to them, Ianto and Tosh already by them, watching, as John just stared, open mouthed at the huge room around him.

"Sonic pulse," the Doctor explained quickly, "Just have to…"

"Reconfigure the shielding to a sonic frequency," Angel cut in, she really _did_ love talking about the TARDIS, it was her 'thing' as the Doctor called it, "It should not only knock them back but knock them out…but not hurt them," she flashed the Doctor a smile as he laughed.

"In three, two, one!" he pulled a lever and there was a faint buzz, "Did it work?" he looked at Donna by the monitor.

"It did!" she cheered, seeing the Weevils that had surrounded the box knocked to the ground and just laying there.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor cheered, running for the doors, "Now, we need to get those Weevils somewhere safe before they recover. The sonic pulse won't have them knocked out for long…"

"We can take them to the Vault," Ianto nodded, moving to help him as Tosh, Gwen, and Donna ran out after them.

"It's…bigger…" John just blinked repeatedly, staring at the room.

"On the inside?" Angel finished for him with a little laugh as he nodded, before taking his hand and pulling him out of the TARDIS after the others.

"Here," Angel ran to Ianto, about to grab the legs of the Weevil he was trying to lift, "Let me help…"

"Angel," the Doctor called as he grabbed the second Weevil under the arms, Donna grabbing the legs as John ran over to help Gwen move the third Weevil, "No, you stay here with Tosh," he nodded over to where Tosh was tapping away at the computers, trying to get things back online.

"But I can help," she frowned.

"Donna?" the Doctor looked at her.

"I got it for now," Donna nodded, moving to grab the Weevil by the arms and pull it, leaving the Doctor to make his way to Angel.

"Please," he said to her quietly, taking her face in his hands, "I need you to stay with Tosh, Weevils…" he glanced back at them, "There's no telling how long they'll stay down for," he looked back at her stroking her cheeks with his thumbs, "I can't risk them attacking you, not now."

She let out a sad breath, she hated being sick, it was just making everything more difficult for the Doctor, but at least she could still do something, she nodded, "Ok," and leaned in to kiss him, "YOU better come back safe too you know."

"I promise," he crossed his hearts, kissing her once more before he moved to take the Weevil's upper half again, Donna grabbing its legs.

~8~

"You did what?!" Ianto demanded as John finished explaining exactly what he'd done to the Doctor, Donna, and him.

"Ianto!" Gwen huffed as he nearly let go of his Weevil to go after John, just as they reached the cells.

"I didn't have a choice!" John shouted.

"There's _always_ a choice," Ianto glared at him.

Donna laughed a bit, huffing with the effort, "I can see why Angel likes you already," she told the man.

"Right, listen," the Doctor cut in, "We don't have the time right now, from what you've said Jack's brother is loose and could be anywhere, the Weevils are attacking, and a nuclear plant is about to meltdown. Maybe we could save this for after we get these Weevils into the cells at least?"

"If we don't find him," Ianto threw one final glare at John, "I'll kill you. Very slowly."

They dragged the Weevils into the cells…only for the doors to slam shut behind them.

"Whoa!" Gwen spun around, running to the doors, "What's happening?" she tried to open them but nothing happened, "Tosh? Tosh!" she pressed her wrist device repeatedly, before moving to the glass of the door, trying to look out, "Ianto, my comms. are dead."

There was a faint buzz in the next cell as the Doctor tried the sonic, "Deadlocked."

"What, you mean we're trapped?!" Donne exclaimed, beside him.

"Guys?" John called, staring out of his and Gwen's cell to see Gray step out of the shadows, looking at all three cells and the 5 people in them, pausing at the Doctor and Donna before focusing on John.

"I let you go. I gave you one trip, you could have gone anywhere."

"Question of honor," John shrugged.

Gwen stepped beside him, eyeing the man, "Gray? You're Gray, right? There's no need for this, we can help you. Just tell us where Jack is."

"His life's mine now," Gray walked away, passing Ianto's cell.

"Where's Jack?" Ianto called, "What've you done with him? What've you done with him?!"

And then past the Doctor and Donna's, not even looking over at them as the duo watched him go silently, knowing it was lost cause to try and talk him out of whatever he was about to do.

"Can't you call Angel?" Donna spun to him as soon as Gray had left, "In your head or something? Tell her to come and get us out?"

The Doctor nodded, "Yes I can, and I am, but I'm not telling her that."

"Well what are you telling her?"

"To run."

"What!?"

"Gray," the Doctor swallowed hard, "That hall leads to the control room where Tosh and Angel were."

Donna fell silent, realizing that, her heart beating madly in her chest in fear for her sister because…Gray had a gun.

~8~

Angel stood beside Tosh, rubbing her forehead as she squinted at the computers Tosh had managed to get up, the light from it and the darkness of the room was hurting her eyes and her head.

"You're psychic right?" Tosh looked at her.

"So the Doctor says," Angel shrugged, but nodded.

"Do you have any idea where Jack might be then?" Tosh asked, she'd heard them over the comm., the girl claiming she could find Jack without the transmitter.

Angel frowned and concentrated, "I could," she nodded.

"You know where he is?!" she asked, hopeful.

"Yes…and no," she frowned, it was so complicated, "I know where he is but…he isn't there _now_ and…"

"What?" Tosh shook her head, confused.

"He's in the past," Angel said, "But where he is then, he won't be in the future, that's why the transmitter isn't working."

"But YOU can find him?" she looked at her.

"Yes."

"Well get to it," Tosh laughed, "Go, take your box, and bring him back."

Angel glanced back at the TARDIS, "Will you be ok?" she _really_ didn't want to leave, she couldn't help but feel like something bad was going to happen to Tosh, but…they needed Jack…

"I'll be fine," she nodded, "The hub's sealed off, the others are taking care of the Weevils, and they'll be back soon, you go, find Jack, and get him back. Ok?"

She nodded, turning to run back into the TARDIS, Tosh watching in awe as the box faded away before her eyes, before shaking her head and getting back to work.

~8~

Owen ran into the nuclear power station, the room red-lit, alarms going off, a frantic looking woman at the controls trying to stop everything, "What are you doing?" she demanded when she spotted him, "Get the hell out of here!"

"What the hell are _you_ doing here, more like!" he countered, running right up to her, "The systems going into meltdown."

"A soldier never leaves her post."

"Ok, well you can now, ok? I'm with Torchwood and we're dealing with this."

"Yeah?" she scoffed, "What d'you know about nuclear containment structure?"

"Well, you know, I'm only a layman, but I'm presuming if you've run out of power, then the containment structure's over pressurized. The containment spray and cooling systems aren't working so the fuel probably can't be cooled down, it's overheating. So sooner rather than later there'll be a meltdown and radioactive material will be released into the atmosphere. Yeah? Roughly?"

The woman just started at him and blinked, "Roughly," she nodded.

"Right, you need to go. Be careful, there are creatures out there on the loose. Take this, it's a kind of mace," he handed her a canister of the sedative Gwen had used.

"It sounds more dangerous out there than in here."

"Yeah, I'd say it's pretty much even. Go."

"Thank you," she breathed and ran from the room.

Owen looked at the screens before sighing and pressing his comm., "Tosh, you're going to have to help me out here, I haven't got a bloody clue what I'm doing."

"Ok," Tosh replied, "I don't want you to panic, but the reactor's already hit the critical point."

"You're telling me it's going into meltdown, aren't you? And I'm at the eye of the storm."

"Yes. Sorry."

"Right, can you fix it?"

~8~

In the Torchwood hub, Tosh smiled, "Of course I can, I'm brilliant!" and got to work on the computer, ready to help divert the power back from the hub to the plant.

"Yeah," Owen laughed, making her smile wider. She loved his laugh, she loved him, really, silly boy didn't really know though.

"I'm gonna try and divert power from the auxiliary source back to Turnmill. If that works, I can talk you through restoring the coolant system," she grabbed her scanner/computer, "Right. Now..."

She stiffened, gasping, her face contorted in pain as a faint bang rang out.

"Tosh!" Owen shouted.

Tosh turned to see Gray behind her, lowering his gun, having just shot her through the stomach. She fell to the ground, her hands pressed to her stomach, "Help me..." she begged quietly to anyone who might hear, "Please…"

~8~

... _Tosh writhed on the floor in pain, blood seeping out of her_...

'... _I will never absolve you. I will take everything you love away from you_...'

... _Owen stood in the nuclear plant, a bright light forming around him as he closed his eyes_...

Angel winced, falling to her knees in pain, pressing a hand to her head as the TARDIS shook around her, no…no this _couldn't_ be happening. This was _not_ what she wanted to happen! She _never_ should have left, Tosh was hurt now, Owen was trapped, Gray was about to kill everyone…

"Jack," she gasped, she needed to get him, quickly, "Come on old girl," she patted the rotor as she ran around the controls, the box shaking only slightly, as though the TARDIS herself was trying to help her pilot, sensing how important this was.

"Got him!" she breathed, seeing the trace of Jack on the monitor, "Now we just need to…" she pulled a lever, twisting knobs and looked over as a faint mound of dirt appeared on the middle of the ramp…only to sit up with a gasp, Jack completely buried in it, panting as he spit out the mouthful of it.

"Jack!" she ran to his side, wiping at his face as best she could, trying to get the dirt off him. It was lucky, that little trick, she'd thought of it when the Doctor kept materializing around people, what if they materialized right where Jack was buried, but only left the shielding down on the lower portion of the TARDIS? Just enough to get to Jack without filling the room with dirt.

"Angie!" he gasped, clutching at her, "How long was I buried?"

She glanced at his watch, "20 seconds."

He blinked, "What?" he was expecting quite a few centuries to go by, practically a couple millennia…

"Time travel," she smiled, helping him, up, "Now come on, we need to stop Gray."

"Where is he?" he ran with her to the console, helping her pilot while also shaking off the dirt from his clothes.

"Torchwood," she told him, "We need to land in the morgue…"

"Why?" he looked over.

She smiled, "Trust me, he's in the command room and we need to get him out of there."

He nodded, going with it, and started to help her with the controls.

~8~

"Tosh!" Owen called over the comm., "Can you hear me, are you there?"

Gray walked over to the computers Tosh had just been on and pulled a handful of wires out of the back of it, turning them off, "I've heard people say death is such a waste," he nearly spat at Tosh, "I imagine it more as a relief."

"Tosh! Can you hear me? Tosh!"

"What's it like?" he stared down at her, writhing on the floor in pain, blood seeping out of her, "How does it feel?" he grabbed her comm./scanner and threw it to the side, into the autopsy/med-bay, "Are you afraid? Are you sad?" he leaned in closer and touched her face, "You can tell me. The battle's done," he stood up and aimed his gun at her, cocking it, ready to pull the trigger…

When a faint wheezing noise echoed to him from somewhere in Torchwood.

"What's that?" he frowned as the noise got louder. He looked around before following it, leaving Tosh to her suffering.

Tosh looked down at her stomach before closing her eyes and rolling over, onto her wound.

"Tosh, talk to me," Owen called, not knowing of her plight, "I need your help here, babe."

She bit her lip as she started her agonizing crawl down the steps to the autopsy area.

~8~

"Oh my God," Gwen breathed as they looked over in the cells, hearing the wheezing.

"Angel!" the Doctor shouted, running to the glass and pounding on it, "No!"

"What is it?" Donna called, "What's she done?"

"What's going on?" Ianto tried to peer out the glass.

John just looked over, fiddling with his manipulator, a small pick in his mouth.

~8~

Gray stormed through the halls of Torchwood, following the wheezing, to the morgue, where he saw a bright blue, police telephone box, appear in the back, right against the freezers for the bodies.

He stopped a few feet before it, staring at it, frowning…

When the doors opened and Jack stepped out, his hand in that of a ginger girl's, keeping her slightly behind him, "I forgive you," Jack said as soon as he saw his brother before him.

"How did you survive?"Gray stared at him, "What is that?!" he pointed at the box.

But Jack ignored both questions, just pulling Angel with him, past Gray, moving her in front of him as he did so, so he would be between her and his brother, "I forgive you, Gray," was all he said as he continued.

"Don't you walk away from me," Gray nearly snarled, "Don't you walk away from me!" but Jack ignored him, pushing Angel on, forcing Gray to run after them, "Stop! Stop!"

He reached out to grab Jack but the man whirled around to face him, his eyes full of tears, his face tense, "I've forgiven you!" he shouted, "I gave you absolution," he swallowed hard, breathing hard, "And the _only_ reason I do that is because I've had an angel in my life showing me how to be a better man," he squeezed Angel's hand, turning to her, "Angie, go help the others."

She glanced between him and Gray, not wanting to leave him to suffer this alone.

"Angie," he cupped her face, staring at her intently, "Go, _please_ " he whispered, the fear for her safety shining in his eyes, he truly believed his brother would kill her if she stayed longer.

She swallowed hard but knew the others needed her, before she nodded and ran off.

Jack let out a relieved breath at how Gray hadn't shot at her with the gun in his hand, and turned back to him, "I've given you absolution," he repeated, "Now do the same for me."

"I prayed for _death_!" Gray snapped, "Those creatures, the things they did to us, because of you, the favorite son, the one who lived, who'll _always_ live. The only strength I have…is my hatred for you."

"I didn't know," he reached for Gray, wanting to hug him, hold him, make it all better, but Gray shrugged him off, pulling away, "I didn't realize until it was too late."

"I begrudge you _everything_ ," Gray sneered, "I want to rip it all from you, to leave YOU screaming in the dark. I will _never_ absolve you. I will take everything you love away from you," Gray glared, "Ianto, your team, that girl," he nodded after Angel, not seeing Jack close his eyes a moment, steeling himself, "All of it...it's _your_ fault."

Jack opened his eyes, hearing a crack in his brother's voice, and reached out to his brother, Gray letting him touch him this time, and pulled him close, hugging him tightly, crying, whispering how sorry he was over and over…before closing his eyes once more and pulling a cloth from his pocket, pressing it to Gray's mouth, holding him, struggling, in his arms, till Gray passed out.

"I know," he whispered, "I know, Gray," he sank to the floor, holding his brother, rocking him back and forth.

~8~

"Got it!" John shouted as he poked his manipulator with the pick…emitting a high pitched noise, like the first Weevil signal, "Sorry!"

"What is that!?" Donna cried, holding her ears.

"What have you done?" Gwen asked, pressing her hands to her ears as well, as were the others.

"Recall signal," the Doctor answered instead, recognizing it.

"Time for all the pets to return home," John smirked.

~8~

All across the city the Weevils looked up at the noise before turning and heading back into the sewers.

~8~

"Angel!" the Doctor shouted, seeing her race around the corner, panting a bit.

"Doctor!" she ran to his cell, pressing a hand to the glass as he did the same, "Are you ok?"

"Fantastic," he smiled at her, "But we've been locked in, deadlocked."

She nodded, looking around for the controls…

~8~

"What happened?" Rhys asked, looking out the window to see the streets were cleared again, "Where have they all gone?"

"Abergavenney?" Andy shrugged.

~8~

Tosh rolled onto her back, sitting at the base of the medical exam chair in autopsy, a trail of thick red blood leading from the control center, down the stairs, to where she was, her front soaked in red, her clothes stained, her face pale, her hands shaking even as she sweated.

"Tosh, come on girl," Owen was calling to her as she worked on her small scanner box, "Here we go," he cheered as she turned the lights back on for him, stopping the power flow from the plant to Torchwood and back to him, "Right, you've done it Tosh, I've got power!" but when Tosh said nothing, he was back, worried, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she swallowed hard, reaching out a hand to pull a tray of syringes down off a small cart, knocking them to the floor.

"Right, what's going on there?"

"Just a...machine malfunction," she said, her voice shaking as she tried to open one of the syringes, some sort of industrial strength pain killer or something.

"Are you hurt?!"

"Who, me? No! I'm fine…really," she bit her lip as she stabbed herself in the leg with it, panting.

"Come on, let's do this together," Owen encouraged.

"Right…" she nodded, "Ok…"she pressed a button on her scanner and a screen appeared on the medical computers, redirected from the controls, and her eyes widened at the readings, "Oh God. Owen..."

"What's the matter?"

"There's no way to stop the meltdown. It's too far gone."

"Ok, ok, that is not good, is it? But come on, Tosh, there's got to be something, there's always something. Come on."

"The only option is to vent the flow channels internally."

"Vent them where?" he hesitated to ask.

"The area you're in is the containment building."

"…yeah?"

"You need to set up a time-delay program, channel the fuel into that bunker and instigate permanent lockdown. Seal the building and the meltdown will be contained within. And, obviously, remember to get out."

"Yeah," he laughed, making her smile, "I think I can remember that bit."

"I'll open the system protocol, you just need to enter the timeframe and authorize, ok?"

"Ok, Tosh. Let's do this thing," he clapped, before getting silent, "And Tosh…thank you."

She closed her eyes, smiling at the sincerity in his words, "That's what I'm here for."

She glanced down at her stomach and looked at the ceiling, tears in her eyes as she bit her lip.

~8~

Jack strode into the Vault, Gray nowhere to be seen, as he looked at Angel frantically trying to manually open the Vault doors via a side control but it had been fused, and with the doors sealed there was no way to get the sonic to her.

"Jack!" Gwen shouted as she spotted him.

"I got it Ang," Jack called as she turned, pressing a control on his manipulator, opening the cells.

"Oh God," Gwen practically flew out and hugged Jack tightly, much like the Doctor was doing with Angel, "Oh, thank God!"

"No time for hugs," Angel pulled away, grabbing the Doctor's hand, "We need to go, now!" and pulled him out of the room, Donna running after them, the Torchwood team not seeing them as they pulled Jack into a group hug, Gwen and Ianto and Jack.

"I thought we'd lost you," Ianto breathed.

Jack closed his eyes, "Never," and held him close, "Never…"

"Quite a queue for the hugs," John remarked.

"Always has been, always will be," Jack nodded, stepping back, "And speaking of hugs…" he looked around, frowning, "Angel?"

~8~

"Yes!" Owen cheered over the comm., "Rock and roll!"

Tosh smiled shakily as she sat, syringes around her, her front red as she tried to stem the bleeding by holding a once-white cloth to her wound. She was pale, shaking, tears in her eyes, sweating, and so…weak…she could barely move, she was in pain, and she was starting to grow cold which she knew wasn't good.

But still…she smiled, because their plan was working! It was working! It was…

"Oh no…" she breathed, her eyes widening as the computer started to beep, a red light flashing in the room the radiation was meant to go, the room Owen was in right now, "Owen, get out of there!" she cried, "There's a power surge in the system! When that hits, it'll trigger an emergency lockdown!"

She gasped, hearing alarms going off over the comms., hearing things slamming shut, and knew…it was too late.

Owen had been locked inside.

"No!" Owen cried, pounding on the door, "No! Tosh! Toshiko! I can't get out! Not like this. Not like _this_!" he raged, shouting, screaming, "I'm _not_ going yet. Get me out of here, Tosh! Get me out of here! I've died once, I'm _not_ doing it again! Where's Jack? Where's Gwen, Ianto, John? You want to watch the dead man die again?"

"Owen," she pleaded, "Just stay calm."

"Oh why should I do that? Where's the fun in that? I'm gonna rage my way to oblivion!" he started screaming, just…screaming.

"Please stop," she begged, her voice cracking.

"Why? Give me one good bloody reason why, one good reason why I shouldn't keep screaming!"

"Because you're breaking my heart," she sobbed, unable to keep the tears back.

Owen didn't know, he had no idea…she loved him.

And he was going to die…

"I'm sorry," Owen came back on a moment later, his voice quiet, subdued.

"It's my fault," she squeezed her eye shut.

"No, no, no, it isn't. No, it isn't. Don't you dare go there Tosh. I'm really sorry," he was quiet as she panted, trying to calm down, trying to be strong for him, "What's gonna happen to me, Tosh?"

"I can't," she shook her head, she didn't want to say, God she didn't want to say!

"Please. Ok, I need to know."

She bit her lip, shaking her head, before closing her eyes, "The containment chamber will be flooded with the irradiated coolant."

"Ah. My body will slowly decompose…as I watch."

"I should've been able to stop it," she groaned, not just from the wound in her gut, but the breaking of her heart.

"Oh, come on, Tosh. There's no way you could've anticipated that power spike, come on. Besides, you've saved my back so many times in the past. Right from the moment I joined."

"Your second week I had to cover for you," she let out a small laugh, smiling as she remembered that, "Pretend I was a medic, 'cos you were hung over and unreachable."

"What was it, Space Pig?"

"Space Pig," she nodded, thinking on that, how so many alien experts had been called to Downing Street as a result, and then Downing Street had been blown up.

"Yeah," she smiled, hearing a smile in his voice, "We never did get that date, did we, you and me? We sort of, er, missed each other. It was my fault. I didn't...didn't notice until it was too late. I'm sorry."

"Me too," she breathed.

She looked up suddenly, hearing something beeping.

"It's starting," Owen murmured.

"Owen..." she gasped.

"It's alright. Really, Tosh. It's…" his voice cut out and she frowned, hearing something over the beeping, "What the hell is that?"

"Owen?" she called, frantic, hearing an odd wheezing over the comm., "Owen what's happening?"

Suddenly the comm. cut to static and she stared up at the screen of the reactor, seeing the red light fading, focusing in the room Owen had been in…

He was gone.

"Owen?" she started shaking, "No…"

And then…she heard it…

The wheezing was back.

The same wheezing as over the comm. but…in the same room as her!

She looked over, her head lulling to the side really, to see the large blue, police telephone box appear only a few feet away, "What…" she breathed.

The doors flew open and she gasped…

"Owen!" she cried as the man ran right to her, a medical bag in his hand, "What…"

"It's alright Tosh," he beamed at her, "I've got you…" he opened the bag and stared at all the alien medications, all the advanced technology that could save her, that could heal Tosh and save her!, "This is incredible!" he looked over his shoulder a moment before getting to work on Tosh, ripping the red cloth away from her front and placing what looked like a peach colored square on her stomach.

Tosh's gaze, slower from her weakness, followed Owen's over his shoulder to the Doctor, Angel, and Donna step out after him.

"Perfect timing," the Doctor grinned, winding his arm around Angel's waist, "As always."

Angel smiled sadly, this was…too close. This was _far_ too close. She should have been able to sense what was happening to the team earlier. But she kept quiet, she didn't want to worry him.

Tosh hissed in pain and looked down at her stomach, her eyes widening as she saw the peach patch blending into her skin, healing the flesh over as though no wound had appeared in the first place.

"What…" she breathed.

"Lean forward," Owen said, trying to move her.

"Let me help," Donna ran over to kneel beside her, helping as Owen placed another patch on her back and leaned her back against the seat.

"Just one more…" Owen mumbled, ripping a syringe out of its case, about to inject her.

"What is that?" Tosh asked as he stuck her.

"Blood replicator," the Doctor called, having watched Owen carefully, "It'll assess your blood and adapt itself to match."

"Like a transfusion?"

"Yeah," Owen nodded, pulling out another syringe, "Pain reliever," he murmured, injecting her once more before he smiled at her, relieved, reaching out to cup Tosh's face, "You're gonna be just fine Tosh."

She let out a breath, already feeling better.

"You alright?" Donna asked.

Tosh nodded, looking at them, "Thank you…"

"Toshiko?" they heard Jack call, "Toshiko!" his voice grew frantic and Tosh knew he'd spotted her blood coating the floor, "Gwen, Ianto! I'm gonna need some hel…" he trailed off suddenly, cutting off as he reached the top of the medical examination area, his eyes wide at the scene before him. Tosh on the ground, cradled by Owen, her front soaked with blood but with no wound visible, Donna beside her. The Doctor and Angel standing in front of the TARDIS smiling, the Doctor positively beaming at Angel...

"Jack what is it?" Gwen asked as she and Ianto ran over, John trailing behind them.

"What's wrong?" Ianto gasped, spotting the blood, "What happened?!"

Jack just ran down the steps and right over to the Time Lords, working out exactly what had happened, "Oh God!" and pulled Angel away from the Doctor, hugging her tighter than their previous reunion, half lifting her off the ground as she laughed and squealed, hugging him back.

He closed his eyes and just…held her a moment. He needed this, he needed this so much. The day had been the day from hell and seeing that blood…he'd come so close to losing one of his team. He'd assessed the situation as soon as he saw Tosh sitting on the ground, Owen beside her, a medical bag open, one far too advanced for the man to have and knew…

Owen had been in the nuclear reactor, Ianto had told him as they headed in to check the hub, it had gone critical or was going critical but Owen was _there_ … _the TARDIS_ was there…he knew that they must have saved the man, brought him back just in time. And Tosh! There was blood everywhere, on the floor, all over her, but she was sitting up, with color in her cheeks and no sign of a wound on her…the medical bag had to be the Doctor's…they'd saved his team!

He squeezed Angel tighter as she hugged him back, tears in his eyes, "Thank you," he whispered, putting her down, kissing her forehead quickly, frowning just a bit as it felt a little warm to him.

"Hello," the Doctor walked over to John, shaking his hand, "I don't think we've actually met. I'm the Doctor."

Jack laughed as he pulled away again from Angel, leaving his arm around her shoulder.

Donna just rolled her eyes, "You've really got the _worst_ timing Spaceman."

The Doctor just pouted, till Angel came back over to his side and put her arms though his, leaning on him, making him smile a bit.

"Jack…" Tosh winced as she stood, Owen helping her up, Angel smiling as she saw the intent look in Owen's eyes, how focused he was on the woman, how concerned, "Where's Gray, is he still loose in the…"

Jack swallowed hard, "I took care of it."

"Jack," Angel stepped away from the Doctor to take Jack's hand, making him look at her, tears in his eyes, "What did you do?"

"I chloroformed him."

"Where is he?" Ianto tensed.

"What are we going to do with him?" Gwen asked, the voice of reason for the moment.

"I say we kill him," Owen spat, his hands clenching into fists, ready and eager to kick the man who had shot Tosh while he couldn't fight back, maybe even murder him and…

Jack took a breath, "No, we're gonna cryo-freeze him," he replied.

"And then what?" John scoffed, "You wake him up in 100 years and he's miraculously better?"

Angel frowned, looking at John thoughtfully at that.

"That's _not_ gonna happen. Maybe killing him would be the release he needs."

"There has been enough death," the Doctor shook his head, thinking of all the people who had died in the Weevil attacks, the team who had nearly died, and they wanted to kill another person?

Angel blinked and looked at Jack, "Can I see him?"

"Angie…" he shook his head, not wanting her to have to get too close.

He knew her, he knew she saw him as her older brother, which would make Gray her older brother as well, and…he didn't want her to get close enough to see what he'd become. It was hard enough for him to bear thinking that she'd been exposed to all this, to see what the man was capable of, but also thinking how much worse it would have been if Angel hadn't been there.

"Please," she asked softly, "I may not have known him as well as you, or been there for most of it, but…he's my brother too."

Jack swallowed hard but had to smile at that, it touched him that Angel truly _did_ think of his as a brother so much that his own brother was also her sibling.

"Alright," he said, his voice cracking.

~8~

Angel stood in one of the back rooms of Torchwood, staring down at the man lying on a table, unconscious, the Doctor beside her, his arm around her shoulders, holding her close, Donna at her other side, holding her hand as she gazed down upon her newly found other older brother, Jack standing across from them, on the other side of the man. The team was in the hub, Owen making sure Tosh was alright, Gwen and Ianto trying to do damage control, get the hub back and running and getting power back to the hospital and helping the police deal with the aftermath of the brief Weevil invasion, offering their leader a moment with them.

Angel reached out a hand and placed it on Gray's chest, just…looking at him, "Can I have a moment alone with my brothers?" she asked, looking over at the Doctor with a soft pleading look in her eyes that he couldn't ever refuse.

He nodded.

"Completely private," she added quietly.

He gave her a smile and nodded again, promising to not listen to her mind or feel her emotions, knowing this needed to be a very private moment with Jack. He kissed her head and led Donna out of the room, erecting his mental barriers and emotional blocks in the process.

Angel watched them go till the door shut and she felt the block snap into place, offering her total privacy, the Doctor wouldn't be able to listen or feel her for a short time. It was difficult to maintain with a Mating, but it could be done. While you did share everything with your Mate, there were some things that _could_ be kept private at times, after the Mating at least. It was easier to keep things hidden then because, before the physical union, all secrets were shared and laid bare for the other to see.

She turned her attention back to Gray, looking at him, her smile turning to a soft frown, "I'm so sorry Jack," she breathed, feeling tears in her eyes.

"Me too," he swallowed hard, his voice cracking as he too looked upon his brother.

Angel was silent a moment, just staring, "He was hurt, wasn't he?" she asked, not looking away, "By the ones who took him. They _hurt_ him, they…twisted him…they filled him with hate and anger and pain."

"Yeah," his voice broke as tears filled his eyes as well, hearing that, even now SHE could sense his pain, it was THAT powerful.

Angel blinked and took a breath, closing her eyes. She had tried, she _was_ trying to save this energy, to keep it back, to store it for something in the future. She knew how hard it had been to just heal Martha's hand and knew, if a situation arose where the power of the Vortex was needed, she had to be ready and have it in her to use it…but this…if she never mustered the strength to use the power again, she needed to for THIS.

"I seem to be saying this a lot lately," she murmured as Jack looked at her, confused, "But…promise me you won't tell the Doctor."

"Tell him what?" Jack frowned.

Angel just opened her eyes, Jack's own widening as he saw her eyes glowing golden with the power of the Vortex.

"Angie…" he breathed, completely stunned, and even a little afraid, not of her, but of the golden glow.

"Trust me Jack," she whispered, looking at him through the golden haze, before smiling at him. She turned and leaned over, pressing a gentle kiss to Gray's forehead.

Jack watched in trepidation as the golden energy seemed to drift in a wave out of Angel and into his brother, the boy faintly glowing gold as it raced through him before…poofing in a small energy wave out of him.

Angel smiled before she stumbled back, nearly falling to the ground as Jack rushed around the table to steady her, "What did you do?" he demanded gently.

"Wait for it," she looked back at Gray, praying she'd succeeded…a moment before his eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright with a gasp.

Jack tensed, pulling Angel behind him, knowing what his brother seemed to be capable of.

"Jack," Angel whispered beside him, taking his hand, squeezing it, "Just… _watch_ …"

Jack glanced back at Angel and then at his brother, watching the man cautiously as he seemed to search for something on the wall across from him with how fast his eyes were darting back and forth before he suddenly closed his eyes and pressed his hands to his head.

"What have I _done_ …" the man breathed.

"Gray?" Jack called, hearing his brother's voice breaking.

Gray looked over at him quickly, his eyes filled with tears, "Jack…" his face scrunched as he started shaking his head, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry…"

Jack ran to his brother's side as he gathered the man into a hug, holding him tightly as his little brother cried into his shoulder, feeling the man shaking with each sob.

"I didn't…" Gray tried to speak, "I was…I'm sorry," he clutched Jack back, hugging him even tighter than he was being hugged, "I was just…angry…and…" he shook his head, "I'm sorry…"

"It's ok," Jack murmured, "It's ok, it'll all be ok…I promise…"

"What happened to me?"Gray asked as he pulled away, looking at Jack, "I was angry, _so_ angry but now…" he shook his head, "I feel…" he couldn't describe it.

His life had been one constant torment after another, he'd felt such rage and hurt and pain and darkness in him, but now…it was like…it was eased. He didn't hurt to move, he didn't feel angry at Jack, he didn't feel consumed…he just felt…him. He felt…

Healed.

Jack looked over his shoulder at Angel, watching them with a smile and tears in her eyes, "What did you do?" he asked her again, "That was the Vortex wasn't it? Is he…"

Angel shifted, "I…it didn't really leave me when I regenerated," she explained, Jack's eyebrows shooting into his hairline at that, "He's not immortal, I'm not that strong," and she probably wouldn't ever be now, "But…recently, I sort of stumbled onto the fact that I seem to be able to heal…"

Jack blinked, "The Doctor…"

"Doesn't know," Angel said quietly, "I…I want to work this _one thing_ out for myself Jack."

He just stared at her, blinked again, before he let out a laugh, "Seriously kid, you are an ANGEL."

"You won't tell him?"

"No," he shook his head, holding out an arm, "Come here!" and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly, laughing.

"Who…" Gray swallowed, looking at the woman, "Who are you?"

Everything was such a blur. It felt like he hadn't even done what he had, like…it was someone else that he'd just been watching happen. He couldn't believe it had been HIM. How could he have made someone into a bomb? How could he have tried to set off bombs to destroy the city? How could he have killed his brother? Tried to bury him alive? Shot his friends? Oh God…he felt sick…

Jack patted his brother on the back, "Gray…meet our sister Angie."

Gray looked up at Jack, startled by that, "Mom and dad…"

"No!" Jack laughed, "Meet the Angel, a Time Lady. She's been like a little sister to me, she reminded me so much of you when you were a kid. She um…she healed you," he smiled at Angel, "She saved you."

He knew it too, he'd seen her save the Doctor from the darkness inside him on more than one occasion, it seemed like she had the ability to do it to humans as well.

Gray looked at her, "I'm sorry," he breathed, knowing he hadn't hurt HER but feeling like he needed to say it.

Angel just stepped closer, putting her arms around him as she hugged him, ignoring the stiffening she felt as the man was touched, "We're family," she told him, "I will _always_ forgive you, no matter what," she winked at Jack over Gray's shoulder at the familiar words.

Jack could only beam as Gray wound his arms around Angel in return, hugging her back, before he too joined in on the family hug.

"Um…Jack?" Angel said after a moment of nearly being squeezed to death.

"Yeah?" Jack asked, not letting go.

"You may want to grab a bucket."

"Why?"

"Just do it, quickly please."

Jack stepped back and grabbed a small rubbish bin, holding it out to Angel, confused as ever. But she just took it and put it under Gray's mouth as the man began to heave into the bin, the true weight of everything he'd done and nearly done hitting him. He fell off the bed, to his knees, Angel going down with him with the bucket as Jack ran to his side, patting his back.

"Angel?!" the Doctor shouted as he ran back in with Donna and the Torchwood team, and John, having heard someone vomiting and fearing the worst, that she'd gotten more ill.

"I'm fine Doctor," she smiled up at him, "My brother, though, is having a difficult time processing everything he's done."

She gestured down at Gray as he rocked back and forth, clutching the pail as Jack hugged him from the side. She looked up at the team to see Tosh shrink back in fear at Gray, remembering what he'd done to her. He hadn't attacked the rest of the team as directly as her so she cowered behind Owen for protection.

Angel stood and walked over to them, reaching out to take Tosh's hand, "Trust me," she whispered to the woman, "Please?"

Tosh frowned, feeling Angel tugging her past Owen and wanted to hesitate, wanted to pull away, but…Jack was bloody right. There was something about Angel's eyes, such a warmth, that…she couldn't help but trust her. The woman had partially been responsible for saving her and Owen, the least she could do was see what the woman wanted her to do. She took a breath and walked with Angel towards Gray, though she grew tenser with each step she took.

"What's she doing?" Owen demanded, about to take a step after them, when the Doctor put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

Angel led Tosh over to Gray, right in front of him and moved them both to kneel, "It'll be alright," she promised Tosh, squeezing her hand before shifting to the side a bit.

Gray looked up at Tosh, who gasped, seeing tears and… _remorse_ …in the man's eyes, eyes that looked so much like Jack's yet so much more broken, "I shot you," Gray breathed, staring at Tosh, before shaking his head, "I'm sorry," he bowed his head, clutching the back of it with his hands.

Tosh stared at him a moment before she slowly reached out and touched his shoulder. Despite it all, everything he'd done and nearly done, to the city, to Jack, to her, the pain he'd caused. He wasn't at fault, he'd been living in an endless hell, he was Jack's brother and…he was _sorry_. She could see it, she could hear it, he was truly _devastated_ by what he'd done, by what he'd become.

"I forgive you," she whispered. It wasn't alright, she couldn't say that, her stomach was screaming at her as a reminder that he'd shot her for no reason but to stop her helping Jack and the city, but…she could forgive him. She was alive, she was still there, and…he needed this.

That look in his eyes, it was the same broken look she'd seen in Jack's from the moment she met him. And his eyes were exactly like Jack's.

"You shouldn't," Gray murmured.

"But I do," she insisted, leaning forward, ignoring the pain in her stomach as she did so and put her arms around the man, hugging him.

Jack watched, smiling softly at the sight of the first step towards truly getting his brother back. He looked at Angel and nodded at her as she smiled back. He didn't see it anymore, that broken look in his eyes. It had been there before the Year-That-Never-Was and had disappeared after it. And he knew it was because of Angel. And now…his brother would end up the same way, all because of her.

~8~

Angel stared at her chopsticks with a small and, every man at the table would admit, adorable frown on her face.

"Humans actually use these…" she held them up, "To eat?"

"Yup," Tosh nodded.

"How?" she shook her head, they were two sticks…

"I haven't been able to figure that out either," Donna remarked, reaching over to hand Angel a fork.

They were currently gathered around Torchwood's conference table, quite a few more chairs pulled up, eating Chinese. Everyone was there, the team, the TARDIS trio, John and even Gray, sitting between Jack and Angel on one side of the table, freshly showered and dressed in a simple button up white shirt and blue jeans, with Donna and the Doctor while Tosh, Owen, Ianto, Gwen, and John sat on the other, Owen as far away from Gray as possible, glaring at the man.

Gray himself was quiet, uncomfortable around so many people he'd hurt, Tosh may have forgiven him with Angel's help but the other members of the team were not quite as forgiving. And they weren't even the ones he'd shot. But still, he was silent and stiff, and seemed to be moving closer to Angel as the conversation drifted around him. He'd found himself more and more at peace the longer he was around the girl, she was just…like a ray of warm sunshine in the cold dark. And…she looked at him like…he was just…him.

The team eyed him distrustfully, Owen glared, Tosh still seemed hesitant when he made sudden moves, Jack seemed guilty, the Doctor cautious as he sat near Angel, John blank and that Donna woman suspicious and eyeing him whenever he even _looked_ at Angel. But Angel…she just looked at him like he was a boy. Just…a normal boy, with such a trust in her eyes that…for once, he felt…good.

"So…what are you gonna do now?" Jack asked John, "Need help with those Rift predictions?"

John sighed, "Lot of this planet I haven't seen. You like it so much, thought I might take a look. Maybe see you around."

"Why don't you take Gray with you?" Angel suggested and the table fell silent, looking at her.

The team seemed uneasy about that, almost like they didn't trust him to snap somewhere else and hurt someone, at least here, even if they were angry at him, they could watch him. Jack looked almost heartbroken that she would suggest his brother go away after he'd just found him, while John and Gray stared at her in shock, Donna a little confused though the Doctor was smiling.

"What?" John shook his head.

Angel just smiled, not at all perturbed by the stares, "Take him with you," she repeated, "He's been trapped for so long, only saw the horror and the darkness of the world. YOU can take him out there, show him its wonders, walk in the dust of planet Earth and see all that life and hope that's out there."

" _I_ can take him," Jack offered.

Angel looked at him, "You'd just up and leave your team?" she asked him knowingly.

He sighed, he knew he couldn't, he couldn't just leave them like that. He'd made that mistake once when the Master had taken over and he'd spent a year worrying about them. He…trusted John, as much as it pained him to say, and the man DID genuinely care about him. Had it not been for Gray's 'dark moment' he had no doubt John would have brought Gray to him and helped them have a reunion, he DID care and he'd look after Gray as though it were HIM. Because, he knew John really _did_ love him. And his brother...Gray _needed_ this, he needed to get away from Torchwood and the people he'd tried to hurt, away from the city, to see the true beauty and life out there.

"What do you think?" Jack looked at John.

John blinked, seeing Jack actually _agreeing_ to it, and looked at Gray. He still had doubts about the boy, he'd seen him play the happy brother with Jack for a moment or two, but…the boy really did look sorry, "IF he wants," he shrugged.

And he supposed…it would be a way to make up for letting himself get caught up in all this, keep an eye on the man, make sure he didn't make anyone else into a bomb.

"Gray?" Angel looked at him, "What do you say?" before she shouted, "That rhymed!"

Gray gave a small smile at that, the first smile in…what felt like ages, "I…" he swallowed, "I'd like to see that."

"Brilliant," the Doctor beamed, "Planet Earth, most remarkable planet in the Universe, with the most indomitable species living in it. Oh you humans," he looked around the table, "Look at you, look at what you've done, how far you've come in such a short time. You really do fascinate me, truly my favorite species ever."

Angel smiled, "Mine too," she laughed, "I have a much bigger family now because of that," she smiled at Jack and Gray and Donna who smiled back.

~8~

"Thank you," Tosh whispered as she hugged Angel tightly, her stomach feeling much better, nearly fully healed, but still a tugging reminder that it had been the girl's abilities, her visions that had likely saved her life.

She, the Doctor, and Donna were getting ready to leave, the other two standing before the TARDIS as Angel gave each of the Torchwood team a goodbye. She'd already hugged Gwen and Owen and Ianto, telling the man that she was expecting great things from him because, apparently, the second best team in the Universe was Jones and Harkness, which had made the Doctor and Jack laugh as she always said Smith and Jones were the very best team.

Gray and John had disappeared via John's manipulator only a few minute earlier, the two men ready to get out there and see what exactly was so wonderful about the Earth. Gray had hugged Jack tightly before he went, whispering that he was sorry again, before he moved to hug Angel as well, knowing everyone was watching him closely to make sure he wouldn't suddenly hurt or attack her. But Angel…she just smiled and hugged him tightly as though nothing had happened. And, to her, nothing had, because they'd stopped it. They'd stopped the team getting hurt in the collapsing warehouse, they'd stopped the bombs destroying the city, they'd freed John, they'd stopped the Weevils, they'd saved Jack from being buried alive, and they'd stopped Tosh and Owen dying…so really…nothing had happened.

Gray had had tears in his eyes as he pulled away, seeing her smiling at him, a…faith in her eyes that he would continue on his path of finding peace and joy and…life. She had kissed his cheek and wished him every happiness, only making him promise that he find a reason to live instead of wishing for death. He'd just looked at her and softly said that he'd already found it. That had brought tears to her eyes, and to Jack's as well, of any reason in the Universe to want to live, Jack could agree, Angel was a worthy one.

"You're very welcome," Angel smiled as she pulled away, before looking at her and Owen, "But, um, could you two do me a favor?"

"Anything," Owen replied, the girl had helped him save Tosh's life, and for that, he'd do anything.

Her smile widened at that as she reached out and took Tosh's right hand and Owen's left as they stood beside each other, and placed Tosh's in Owen's, "Rule 408 of travelling with the Doctor, always waste time when you don't have any," she laughed, "But you two," she squeezed their joined hands before letting go, "You've got all the time in the world now. _Don't_ waste it yeah?"

Owen looked at Tosh, a soft look in his eyes as he moved Tosh's hand, entwining their fingers, "Yeah," he nodded.

Tosh blushed but beamed at that, their last few moments, or what they'd thought were going to be their last few moments, had revealed more of their true feelings for the other. She'd half-expected Owen to ignore it, brush it off as a spur of the moment thing, but there he was, not about to let it go.

Maybe they'd finally get that date after all.

"We better head out," the Doctor called, nodding at the TARDIS, "We were about to take Donna to Planet Zog before we stopped by."

Jack looked at Angel as she moved over to the Doctor's side, taking his hand, "You sure you don't want me to take you to see Stephen and Alice?" he asked her quietly.

He'd offered it before they'd eaten, said that he could take her to see the two, as a sort of family dinner, but she'd just smiled and said they were already with quite a bit of their family and that, from what he'd said, Alice would NEVER bring Stephen to Torchwood. She'd said that they could take a 'rain check' and asked if that was the right phrase.

She nodded, her smile growing a bit small, "I think you need to be here right now Jack," she told him, "With the team, because…everything that happened…" she trailed off, not quite sure how to phrase it.

Luckily, the Doctor did, "When it hits you," he continued, "You're not gonna want to be somewhere else when it does."

"When what hits us?" Ianto frowned, having stepped over with the team to say one final goodbye.

Donna gave a small laugh, "You lot may be used to risking your lives every day, but today, just now, even YOU can't say it wasn't a close one."

The team blinked and looked at each other, frowning, it really was just another day at the offi…

"Oh my God," Gwen gasped, her eyes wide.

"There it is," the Doctor nodded.

"Gwen?" Tosh put a hand on her arm.

Gwen just looked at Tosh, tears in her eyes, "If they hadn't…" she swallowed hard, "I'd be packing up your things in a storage container right now."

Jack's mouth fell open as he too realized, right at that moment, he'd have been putting Owen's belongings away. Ianto let out a breath, he'd be the one in charge of removing their access from the computer.

"See?" Angel gave him a small knowing smile as she nudged him, "You need to be HERE, right now. I can wait to meet my niece and great-nephew."

And, if her time ran out before then, she couldn't help but think about what Gwen had said. In death, you could watch over your loved ones more closely, protect them more because you could always be with them in a way. If the worst happened, Alice and Stephen would still be protected, by her.

She felt the Doctor squeeze her hand tightly, catching her thoughts, his emotions shifting turbulently, not wanting to think about that.

Jack turned to Angel and pulled her away from the Doctor, hugging her even tighter than Tosh had, "You really are a good luck charm aren't you?" he breathed, thinking of all she'd done.

"I'm really not," Angel whispered as she pulled back.

"You definitely _are_ ," Jack told her, looking at her, "Every time I meet you Angie, I come away with so much more than I had before," he nearly laughed, seeing her confused expression, "I meet you and I get a sister. I meet you a second time, and I get a new lease on life, I realize how much of a gift I have," he put a hand on his heart, representing his immortality, "Then you come over again…and I get my brother back and my team is saved along with the city," he shook his head, "I can't imagine what I'll get the next time we meet."

Angel's smile turned sad at that, the only thing she could think of was that he'd be getting an invitation to a funeral.

~8~

Angel was standing at the console, looking up at the rotor rising and falling, thinking about whether it had been the right decision to not tell Jack what was happening to her. He'd nearly lost so much that day, not only his brother, but his team, the city as well…so many people could have died, but she'd helped save them. She hadn't wanted to ruin that triumph by telling him _she_ was dying. She didn't want to distract him either, she knew Jack, he cared for her as though she really was his sister, he'd want to be there, taking care of her, but the Earth needed him. She wasn't selfish enough to begrudge the Earth one of the best protectors it could ask for, especially not when she had another of its best protectors at her side already. And…she just hadn't wanted him to know because it would hurt him, so much. He'd lost his brother as a child, she couldn't bear to tell him he was losing his sister as an adult.

The Doctor moved behind her, wrapping his arms around her, just holding her close, sensing a sort of sadness coming from her that broke his hearts, "What is it?" he whispered in her ear, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I did a lot, didn't I?"she asked, still staring at the rotor, "Today?"

"You did more than a lot," he gave a soft laugh, humming in her ear, "You did everything, for everyone, like you always do. You saved them all Nella."

She blinked, tears in her eyes, she did too much really. All the running, the visions…they were starting to hurt…and the fear and anxiety and…the Vortex, using that, she knew, she'd used the last of it that she could bear to use, the last of it she had the strength to use. She'd used the last of her strength to give Jack his brother back…

"I did good then?"

That was _all_ she wanted, to know that, while she was still useful, that she'd done a good job, that she'd made the Doctor proud.

He kissed her cheek, hugging her tighter, his hearts breaking at that, hearing that in her mind, they knew what was coming. Her feelings and visions and senses started to…fade. It was like…SHE didn't have a future to see, she wouldn't be there in that future so…it just…stopped working. She hadn't been able to see or feel anything of the future the last few months on the _Valiant_ , it had been one reason why they'd worried she wouldn't regenerate, she couldn't see it. And one reason she might not see it was because…she wasn't there _in_ it.

"Yeah," he nodded, turning her to hold her close, "You did good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :'( for the Doctor and Angel but...on a happier note...
> 
> OWEN AND TOSH LIVE! Woo! And...Angel really HEALED someone! Double woo! But sadly...she's dying and growing weaker so the Vortex takes more out of her than normal. She was trying to save her strength but...how many of you would have been able to resist helping Jack get his brother back seeing how broken he was over what happened? Certainly not Angel. She gave the last of her 'Vortex strength' to give him back his brother.
> 
> As I was watching the episode, I sort of felt that, near the end, Gray started to almost act human when he and Jack were talking before he knocked Gray out. I thought, well, what if Angel's healing went a bit deeper? I think, with Martha and Mr. Copper she was just...trying it, but here she really, really wanted it. She put as much strength into it as she could and was able to heal on a different level. But, as promised, with every major step Angel takes, if done too soon, there will be consequences. No more Vortex for her, she's not strong enough anymore, she really did do too much :(
> 
> And now we're going to be getting back into the DW episodes :)


	27. The Unicorn and the Wasp: The Murder

A soft wheezing noise filled the garden of an English manor house when the TARDIS appeared within its garden, the Doctor, Angel, and Donna stepping out, "Oh, smell that air," the Doctor sniffed, "Grass and lemonade and a little bit of mint. Just a hint of mint, must be the 1920s."

This wasn't quite what he was aiming for, they'd just come from Torchwood, from seeing Jack and his team, saving them more like it, but Angel had been a bit weary after, so they'd rested up a bit on the TARDIS before trying for Planet Zog...only to end up there. He'd pouted, Zog was known for its healing and naturally warm waters. He was hoping it might help Angel recover if just a bit. She had gotten paler since Torchwood, felt a bit colder to the touch, her hands at least, her head felt warm, not quite feverish but enough to notice something was a little wrong. It worried him and he knew it worried her as well, it was one thing to not be hungry or get headaches from time to time, but he knew it got to Angel when other people could tell that something was wrong.

She was so...compassionate like that. She never wanted other people to worry about her despite the fact that SHE worried about everyone she met. She didn't want others to know something was wrong for two reasons, the first being that they _would_ worry for her and she didn't want that. It was the main reason she'd made him swear NOT to tell Jack about what was happening. The man would worry about her more than anyone else on Earth if he knew, not exactly more than anyone else in the Universe, the Doctor had taken that title, but still...he'd nearly lost his team and his brother and adding her dying on top of it all...it would be too much.

The second was...if others could tell something was wrong, they would ask her about it. She really and truly didn't want to think about it, she had been adamant about it. She wanted things to be normal, she didn't want to think about what might happen to her until she absolutely had to. But she understood that the Doctor was going to try and go for calm trips, of course she knew, he was that sort of man, that sort of incredible man who put other people above himself. She knew how much he loved his adventures, the thrill, the running, but he was putting that off, he was holding back, and he was avoiding it actively...for her.

She always felt herself tearing up whenever she thought on that though. She could always feel how much he loved her when he thought on possible calm trips to take, how her health and how she might react to a trip was always the first thought in his mind, second being whether she would like it, because he wanted to see her smile and be happy. But it was always, she felt, a loss for him, because those calm trips...they wouldn't be adventurous or thrilling or involve running...and he really DID love them. She didn't want to be the reason he missed out on adventures. She had to admit they _were_ distracting. But there he was, putting a stop to all the danger, in the hopes that the calmness would help her last long enough for him to save her. She didn't want that though, well, she wanted to be saved, of course she did, but she didn't want him to give up something he loved over her...

' _I'm not giving up something I love,_ ' his voice whispered to her, having seen where her thoughts were going, ' _I'm holding onto that something with everything I have._ '

She looked up at him, startled, she'd been hoping he wouldn't hear where her thoughts had gone because she knew how sad it made him, how sad it made her to think on that future.

' _I will never give up on you Nella,_ ' he swore to her, ' _The adventures...they don't matter to me. The ONLY thing that matters is you and getting you better._ '

He sighed, it was one thing he didn't understand, why the TARDIS would bring them there and not to Zog. The TARDIS loved Angel as much as he did, he knew it, he could see it in how the box seemed to interact with her. It didn't make sense that the box would bring them there instead of Zog when, he was sure, Zog would be better for her.

' _You may not always know why,_ ' Angel murmured in his mind, which made him frown, even her mental voice had a bit of weakness in it, ' _But she always takes us where we need to go,_ ' she looked around, ' _And..._ i _t's peaceful here._ '

He glanced around again and had to admit it _was_ rather peaceful. The air was clear and fragrant and cool, perhaps it would do her some good to be there instead, a nice calm day in the 1920s. Maybe that was just what they needed. Alien planets, he'd learned, seemed to be full of dangers, but the Earth, for the most part, if it wasn't Christmas, was a bit more calm.

"You can tell what year it is just by smelling?" Donna asked, impressed.

"Oh yeah."

"Or maybe that vintage car coming up the drive gave it away," Donna pointed.

Angel laughed at that, "I can usually tell when it is because of the TARDIS," she patted the corner of the phone box fondly, "I've spent so much time around them that guessing the time and space just...comes naturally."

The Doctor put his arm around her and led them closer to the driveway, hiding them a bit off to the side as they watched the car pull up and an older man get out.

"The professor's luggage, Richard," a butler ordered, "Step lively," the man got out of the car and headed towards him, "Good afternoon, professor Peach."

"Hello, Greeves, old man," Peach nodded as a bicycle bell rang, "Ah, Reverend!"

They turned to see a blonde man, about 40 years old, riding up on a bike, "Professor Peach. Beautiful day," he got off, "Lord's in His Heaven, all's right with the world."

"Reverend Golightly," Greeves greeted, "The Lady Eddison requests that you make yourselves comfortable in your rooms. Cocktails will be served on the lawn from half-past four."

The trio peered around the side of the house, "You go on up," Peach turned to the Reverend, "I need to check something in the library."

"Oh?" the Reverend asked.

"Alone."

"It's supposed to be a party. All this work will be the death of you," but he went in the house regardless.

"Never mind Planet Zog," Donna remarked, "A party in the 1920s, that's more like it."

"The trouble is, we haven't been invited," the Doctor reminded her, before reaching into his coat pocket, "Oh, I forgot…" he held up the psychic paper, "Yes, we have."

"Who are we then?" Angel asked, eyeing the paper, she _still_ couldn't see it, not that there was anything to see, nothing had been written on it yet.

"Hmm," the Doctor hummed, thinking on it, "Doctor John Smith, with my lovely wife Angela," he smiled, kissing the back of Angel's hand, "And her sister Donna Noble," before he considered it, "Of the Chiswick Nobles," he winked.

"Right then," Donna nodded, taking Angel's hand and tugging her back, moving them to the TARDIS, "We need outfits!"

The Doctor laughed as they stepped into the box, he loved how much Donna and Angel had taken to each other, they were always having fun dressing up and...he supposed...he was rather grateful Donna was there. He'd been worried that Donna would treat Angel differently, learning about what was happening to her. But the ginger just carried on, seemed to go out of her way to _not_ let Angel think about it and cheer her up. He knew Angel was worried that, by them knowing, things would be different. And they were, a bit, calmer trips from now on, he swore it, he did _not_ want her to have to run. But he knew she was worried that it might end up as just a big constant reminder that she was dying, as she'd said, she'd had a year to do little more than think on how she was dying, she wanted things to be normal.

And Donna had taken to doing just that without them even mentioning it. The woman just seemed to _know_ how Angel felt and was doing her best to keep her cheerful. Perhaps Angel was rubbing off a bit on her, Donna was rather sensitive to how her 'sister' felt, much like how Angel was sensitive to how loads of others felt.

Whatever it was, he couldn't thank the Universe enough for giving Donna to them.

~8~

Professor Peach stood by a desk in the library, examining papers, "I was right. Kept secret all these years, it's unbelievable. But why didn't they ask..." he gasped and turned around as he heard the door open, "Heavens! Oh, it's you," he smiled, shifting the papers back to the desk as the figure approached, "I was just doing a little research. I say," he frowned, eyeing the figure, tensing, "What are you doing with that lead piping?"

There was a buzzing sound as Peach looked up stunned, gasping, his eyes wide in shock.

"But that's impossible!" he shouted as a giant stinger darted towards him, "No! No!"

~8~

The Doctor rolled his eyes as he waited outside the TARDIS, knocking on the door, "We'll be late for cocktails!"

The door opened and Angel came out...and his hearts stopped.

She was dressed in a light green dress. It was thin-strapped, very fitted, that went down to her mid-thighs, there were little dangling things in layers, like tassel ends all up it that swayed with every move she made and drew his eye right to her body every time. Her beautiful ginger hair was down, which he loved, though held back slightly by the dark green headband she had around her head, a small green feather sticking out of it, which complimented the dark green boa she was wearing around her arms, almost like a shawl. He couldn't stop his eyes from trailing down her body to her legs, right down to her feet in their small heeled, dark green shoes.

Angel had to smile at that, seeing his gaze had yet to return to her face from her legs, "I feel like Jack would make a comment about how my eyes are up here Doctor," she laughed as his head snapped up, his eyes wide at having been caught, a faint pink tint appearing on his cheeks.

He shook his head from his embarrassment and beamed at her, taking her hand lightly, about to kiss the back of it when he noticed she was also wearing light green gloves that went up to her elbows. He raised an eyebrow at that.

"My hands were cold," she gave a small shrug.

He swallowed hard, but took her hand in both of his, running his fingers along it a moment before kissing the back of it anyway, "Better?"

She smiled, "Much."

He beamed at that and tugged her closer to him just as Donna stepped out, in a lovely brown and black flapper dress of her own, "What do you think? Flapper or slapper?"

"Flapper. You look lovely."

"She looks _beautiful_ ," Angel corrected, smiling at Donna, before turning to shoot a grin at the Doctor, "Finally someone who wants to dress up as well!" she _really_ loved that about Donna.

The Doctor laughed at that and just looked at Angel softly, the girl was in such a terrible situation, yet there she was, smiling away, still able to manage it despite everything happening to her. His grin faltered though, when his mind wandered to how he could possibly go on without that grin, that smile, that laugh. It truly did brighten up so much of his life, Angel always did that in little ways, made things better.

"Well let's go then!" Donna cheered, pulling him from his darkening thoughts as she closed the door and turned, following the Doctor and Angel up the drive, smiling as the Doctor linked arms with Angel. She'd seen the look on the Doctor's face, how his smile had started to fade and she knew where his mind had gone. And she would NOT let it go there, not ever, she wouldn't let either of them think about Angel's predicament. Not for a moment.

Because everything would be fine. It had to be. Angel wasn't going to die. She wouldn't. The Doctor would stop it.

...and if he didn't, SHE would have some words with whatever deity the Time Lords believed in herself!

~8~

Tables were being set up on the lawn as servants rushed around to finish getting the food and drinks ready. A record player was wound and started playing a light tune as the housekeeper called out orders when she spotted the trio making their way over, "Look sharp! We have guests."

The Doctor and Angel strolled up, arm-in-arm, with Donna, "Good afternoon!" the Doctor smiled.

A footman stepped up to them, "Drink, sir? Madams?"

"Sidecar, please," Donna replied.

"And a lime and soda, thank you," the Doctor nodded.

"Nothing for me thanks," Angel said quietly.

"Angel…" the Doctor turned to her, concerned.

"I'm just not very hungry or thirsty."

"Please?" he took her hands in his, squeezing them, rubbing his thumbs over her cloth-covered knuckles, "To keep your strength up?"

She sighed and turned to the footman, "A water would be lovely."

The man nodded and walked off.

"May I introduce Lady Clemency Eddison!" Greeves called as a small blonde woman walked up, dressed in a light blue, well-made dress.

"Lady Eddison!" the Doctor greeted as though she were an old friend.

"Excuse me, but who exactly might you be…and what are you doing here?" the woman eyed him, clearly not recognizing him, not that she would.

"I'm the Doctor and this is my wife Angela, and her sister, Miss Donna Noble…of the Chiswick Nobles."

"Good afternoon, my lady," Donna said poshly, curtsying, "Topping day, what? Spiffing! Top hole!"

"No, no, no, no, no," the Doctor murmured, "Don't do that. Don't," he turned and held up the psychic paper to the woman, "We were thrilled to receive your invitation, my lady. We met at the ambassador's reception."

"Doctor, how could I forget you?" Eddison nodded as though recalling him, "And your lovely wife," she hugged Angel, "But one must be sure with the Unicorn on the loose."

"A unicorn?" the Doctor's beamed...and started looking around for one, much to the amusement of Donna and Angel, "Brilliant. Where?"

"Uh, _the_ Unicorn. The jewel thief? And nobody knows who he is. He's just struck again. Snatched Lady Babbington's pearls right from under her nose."

"Funny place to wear pearls," Donna commented quietly as she took her drink from the footman.

"May I announce the Colonel Hugh Curbishley, the Honorable Roger Curbishley," Greeves announced as a younger man pushed a wheelchair-laden older man over to them.

"My husband," Eddison smiled, "And my son."

"Forgive me for not rising," Hugh smiled up at them, "Never been the same since the flu epidemic back in '18."

"My word!" Roger grinned at Donna, "You are a super lady!"

"Oh!" Donna beamed, "I like the cut of your jib. Chin-chin."

"I'm the Doctor," he shook the man's hand, "And this is Angela, my wife."

Angel blushed at that, being called his wife. His wife, his Mate, his angel, his anything sounded wonderful to her, "Nice to meet you."

"How do you do?" Roger asked politely.

"Your usual, sir," a young male servant stepped forward with a drink on a tray before Angel could answer, holding it out to Roger.

"Ah, thank you, Davenport," Roger took it, "Just how I like it," he cast Davenport a lingering look that made Angel smile for them.

"How come she's an Eddison but her husband and son are Curbishleys?" Donna whispered to them as Roger walked off.

"The Eddison title descends through her," the Doctor explained, gesturing at Eddison, "One day Roger will be a lord."

"Miss Robina Redmond!" Greeves called as a young lady in a red dress joined them.

"She's the absolute hit of the social season," Eddison remarked, "A must. Miss Redmond!"

"Spiffing to meet you at last, my lady," Robina smiled.

"Reverend Arnold Golightly!"

"Ah, Reverend!" Eddison turned as the Reverend joined them, "How are you? I heard about the church last Thursday night, those ruffians breaking in."

Angel eyed the Reverend a moment with a frown before shaking her head, rubbing it as she shivered a bit.

"You apprehended them, I hear," Hugh was saying.

"You alright?" the Doctor asked Angel quietly, having felt her shiver being right beside her.

"As the Christian fathers taught me, we must forgive them their trespasses," the Reverend joked, "Quite literally."

"Fine," Angel smiled at him, "Just a bit cold," he frowned, she hadn't said she felt cold, but he'd seen her shivering more, hugging herself a bit more in her sweater, turning the heat up in the console room, it was like she was cold no matter how bundled up she was. He put an arm around her, offering his body heat as well.

"Some of these young boys deserve a decent thrashing," Roger nodded.

"Couldn't agree more, sir," Davenport looked at him as Roger cleared his throat.

"Typical," Donna scoffed, "All the decent men are on the other bus."

"Or Time Lords," Angel smiled, easing the tense moment she and the Doctor had shared.

He smiled at her and dropped a kiss onto her hair, rubbing her arm with his hand, torn between wanting to suggest she find a thicker dress, perhaps a coat to help, and wanting to enjoy her in that dress as long as possible, but Angel didn't seem to mind the chill at the moment, not with his arms around her.

"Now my lady, what about this special guest you promised us?" the Reverend looked at her.

"Here she is!" Eddison cheered, "A lady who needs no introduction," the small group started to applaud as a blonde woman with striking blue eyes walked across the lawn towards them, not looking _at all_ comfortable with the attention.

"Oh, no," she blushed, "Please don't. Thank you, Lady Eddison. Honestly, there's no need," she smiled as she spotted the trio standing in the back and made her way over to them, shaking Donna's hand, "Agatha Christie."

"What about her?" Donna blinked.

"That's me."

"No! You're kidding!"

"Agatha Christie!" the Doctor shook her hand excitedly, "I was just talking about you the other day. I said, 'I bet she's brilliant.' I'm the Doctor, that's Angela, and this is Donna. Oh, I love your stuff! What a mind! You fool me every time. Well…almost every time. Well…once or twice. Well…once. But it was a _good_ once."

"It's nice to meet you," Angel shook the woman's hand calmly.

Agatha eyed her a moment, "Forgive my asking, but are you alright my dear?"

Angel blinked before smiling, "I'm a bit unwell at the moment I'm afraid."

"Well then, I hope you recover."

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, putting an arm around her.

Agatha frowned, noticing the man's tense smile and realized it was far worse than they were playing off. She shook her head and decided to change the topic, "You make a rather unusual couple," and they did, the girl so calm, the man so energetic.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," the Doctor shook his head as he gestured to Donna, "We're _not_ married."

"We're _not_ a couple," Donna shook her head as well.

"I wasn't quite referring to you two," Agatha winked at Angel, making her laugh, "But either way, you two," she eyed Donna and the Doctor, "Are clearly not, your arm, sir, appears to be around another woman."

"Oh…you don't miss a trick," the Doctor smiled.

"And I'd stay that way if I were you," Agatha turned to Donna, "The thrill is in the chase, never in the capture."

"Mrs. Christie, I'm so glad you could come," Eddison spoke, "I'm one of your greatest followers. I've read all six of your books. Uh, is, uh, Mr. Christie not joining us?"

"Is he needed?" Agatha countered, walking over to the woman, sounding just a tad bitter, "Can't a woman make her own way in the world?"

"Don't give my wife ideas," Hugh chuckled.

"Mrs. Christie, I have a question," Roger began, "Why a Belgian detective?"

"Excuse me, Colonel," the Doctor walked over to the man, taking the newspaper.

"Belgians make such lovely buns," Agatha explained as everyone laughed.

"Where on Earth's professor Peach?" Roger wondered, "He'd love to meet Mrs. Christie."

"Said he was going to the library," the Reverend told them.

The Doctor motioned Donna and Angel over to him.

"Miss Chandrakala, would you go and collect the professor?" Eddison asked.

"At once, my lady," the housekeeper nodded, heading for the house.

"The date on this newspaper," the Doctor remarked to the girls quietly.

"What about it?" Donna frowned.

"It's the day Agatha Christie disappeared."

~8~

Miss Chandrakala knocked on the library door, "Professor Peach!" she called, opening it, "Professor?" she gasped in horror at the sight beyound, before turning and running out.

~8~

"She just discovered her husband was having an affair," the Doctor continued as they stood there, watching Agatha laugh and joke with the group.

"You'd never think to look at her smiling away," Donna commented.

"Well, she's British and moneyed. That's what they do."

"Keep buggering on," Angel sighed, before shaking her head and smiling, "Time Lords do it the best though," she smiled at the Doctor as he took her hand and squeezed it.

They certainly did.

"Except for this one time," the Doctor looked back at Agatha, "No one knows exactly what happened, she just vanished. Her car will be found tomorrow morning by the side of a lake. Ten days later she turns up at a hotel in Harrogate. Said she'd lost her memory. She never spoke about the disappearance till the day she died. But whatever it was…"

"It's about to happen," Donna realized.

"Right here, right now."

"The professor!" Miss Chandrakala screamed, dashing out of the house, "The library! Murder! Murder!"

~8~

The Doctor rushed into the library followed by Donna and Angel, then Agatha as he ran over to the body of the professor lying face down on the ground, "Oh, my goodness," Greeves gasped, coming up behind them.

"Bashed on the back of the head," the Doctor examined, "Blunt instrument," he tapped Peach's watch, "Watch broke as he fell, time of death was quarter past four…" he got up and turned to the desk, examining the papers on it while Angel moved to kneel beside the body, looking at it sadly.

"Bit of pipe," Donna picked up the lead pipe on the floor, "Call me Hercule Poirot but I reckon that's blunt enough."

Agatha pulled a scrap of paper out of the fireplace, Angel spotting it but keeping quiet.

"Nothing worth killing for in that lot, dry as dust."

"Hold on, the body in the library?" Donna leaned over to the Doctor, "I mean, Professor Peach, in the library, with a lead pipe?"

"Let me see!" Eddison called from the hallway.

"Out of my way!" Hugh shouted.

"Gerald!" Eddison cried, she and the others entering the library.

"Saints preserve us," Reverend whispered.

"Oh, how awful," Robina gasped.

"Someone should call the police," Agatha turned to them.

"You don't have to," the Doctor spun around and held out the psychic paper, "Chief Inspector Smith from Scotland Yard, known as the Doctor with my wife Angela. Miss Noble is the plucky young girl who helps me out."

"I say," Eddison gasped.

"Mrs. Christie was right. Go into the sitting room. I will question each of you in turn."

"Come along," Agatha ushered everyone out of the room, leaving only the Doctor, Angel, and Donna, "Do as the Doctor says. Keep the room undisturbed."

"'The plucky young girl who helps me out?'" Donna scoffed.

The Doctor stretched down on the floor, examining it for clues, "There were no policewomen in 1926."

"I'll pluck you in a minute. Why don't we phone the real police?"

"The last think we want is PC Plod sticking his nose in. Especially…" he pulled something out from a crack in the floor, "Now I've found this!" he stood up, holding it out to Angel as she knelt by the body, "Morphic residue."

"Morphic? Doesn't sound very 1926."

"Gets left behind when certain species genetically re-encode."

"So it's a shape changer?" Angel guessed.

"The murderer's an alien?" Donna shook her head.

"Which means that one of that lot is an alien in human form," the Doctor agreed.

"Yeah, but think about it. There's a murder, a mystery, and Agatha Christie."

"So?" he sniffed the residue, "Happens to us all the time."

"No, but isn't that a bit weird? Agatha Christie didn't walk around surrounded by murders. Not really. That's like meeting Charles Dickens and he's surrounded by ghosts...at Christmas."

"Well…" the Doctor shrugged as Angel smiled, recalling that story Rose had told her.

"Oh come on. It's not like we could drive across country and find Enid Blyton having tea with Noddy. Could we? Noddy's not real. Is he? Tell me there's no Noddy."

"There's no Noddy," the Doctor told her, reaching out a hand to help Angel up, and headed for the door.

"Next thing you'll be telling me…" Donna followed them out into the hallway, "…it's like _Murder on the Orient Express_ and they all did it."

"'Murder on the Orient Express?'" Agatha asked, stepping out of an alcove.

"Oh, yeah. One of your best."

"But not yet," the Doctor hissed.

"Marvelous idea, though," Agatha trailed in thought.

"Yeah, tell you what, Copyright: Donna Noble, yeah?" Donna smiled.

"Anyway," the Doctor interrupted, "Agatha and I will question suspects. Donna, you search the bedrooms, look for clues," he added quietly, "Any more residue," before pulling out a large magnifying glass from his pocket, "You'll need this."

"Is that for real?" Donna raised an eyebrow.

"Go on," he grinned, "You're ever so plucky."

Donna sighed and took the glass, turning to head up the stairs, when Angel called out, "Hold on, I'll come with you."

"No, no," the Doctor shook his head, gently grabbing her arm and pulling her back, "I don't want you overexerting yourself. You're gonna sit in on the questioning with me and Agatha, watch for suspicious behavior and whatnot."

"Doctor…"

"Please," he took her hands in his.

They were pale.

She was pale.

And not a healthy one.

She sighed at the pleading look in his eyes, "Alright," she nodded, looking over at Donna, "Will you be ok on your own?"

Donna smiled and nodded, heading back up the stairs, "Course I will, you just rest."

Agatha watched the interaction with a mixture of interest and concern. The woman was ill, she knew that much, and it had to be _very_ bad for them to _both_ ask her to rest instead of explore, they seemed like the sort to love exploring.

"Right then," the Doctor took Angel's hand and turned to Agatha, "Me and my wife solving a murder mystery with Agatha Christie. Brilliant!"

Agatha's small smile faded at his excitement, "How like a man to have fun while there's disaster all around him."

"Sorry," he cleared his throat, "Yeah."

"I'll work with you, gladly, but for the sake of justice, not your own amusement," she continued.

He just nodded and followed her to the sitting room with Angel.

~8~

The Reverend sat in a chair, facing the Doctor and Agatha, Angel sitting off to the side, watching him closely, torn between hoping for a feeling and not wanting one, her visions had start to hurt when she got them, she didn't want to know what her feelings might end up being like, she hadn't had much to feel for on the _Valiant_.

"Now then, Reverend…where were you at quarter past four?" he asked.

"Let me think," the Reverend thought back, "Why yes, I remember…I was unpacking in my room."

"No alibi then?"

"You were alone?" Agatha frowned.

"With the Lord, one is never truly along, Doctor," the Reverend smiled.

Angel looked over at the Doctor, so far it seemed to be true. She wasn't _feeling_ anything though, so she couldn't be sure.

~8~

"And where were you?" the Doctor looked at Roger.

"Let me think. I was, uh…oh yes, I was taking a constitutional in the fields behind the house. Just taking a stroll, that's all."

"Alone?"

"Oh yes, all alone. Totally alone. Absolutely alone. Completely. All of the time. I wandered, lonely, as the proverbial cloud. There was no one else with me. Not at all. Not ever…"

Angel nearly laughed, clearly he was lying, he most certainly was _not_ alone, though she doubted Davenport being with him made him a murder suspect. Good for him, finding love. She smiled as she looked at the Doctor, watching him work, she really was just so lucky to have him in her life, to have his love.

As though sensing her thoughts, the Doctor turned and shot a wink at her.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww, we finally got to see Angel in that Flapper dress that had been mentioned a few times ;) I always thought Agatha would pick up on Angel being sick for some reason. And...I can say that this episode will see something alarming for Angel, quite a few things really }:)


	28. The Unicorn and the Wasp: The Mystery

"And where were you?" the Doctor eyed Robina, the next possible-human to be interviewed.

"At a quarter past four?" the woman blinked, pressing a finger to her chin as she thought on it, "Well, I went to the toilet when I arrived, and then, um…oh yes, I remember. I was preparing myself. Positively buzzing with excitement about the party…and the super fun of meeting Lady Eddy."

"We've only got your word for it."

"That's your problem," she smirked, "Not mine."

Angel frowned, it seemed like the woman was telling the truth, though she was a bit defensive. There was something...about her. It was weird, it was like...she was human, but...not quite the human expected? If that made any sense at all. She could tell the woman was hiding something, but she didn't think it was that she was secretly an alien.

~8~

"And where were you, sir?"

Hugh was the next suspect.

"Quarter past four? Let me think…oh yes, I remember…I was sitting in me study reading through some military memoirs. Fascinating stuff. Took me back to me days in the army...started reminiscing...mafeking, you know...terrible war…"

"Colonel, snap out of it," the Doctor snapped his finger in front of Hugh's face as his mind started to wander. He was getting the distinct impression, by the smile on the man's face, that he was NOT reading up on the war.

"I was in me study…" Hugh began to repeat.

"No, no, no, right out of it."

"Oh, sorry," he shook his head, "Got a bit…carried away there…"

Angel nearly laughed, he was probably alone, though she'd guessed the same as the Doctor, his reading memoirs was not true.

~8~

"And where were you at a quarter past four, my lady?" Eddison was last.

"Now let me see…yes, I remember…I was sitting in the blue room taking my afternoon tea," she smiled at Agatha, "It's a ritual of mine. I needed to gather strength for the duty of hostess. I then proceeded to the lawn where I met…you, Doctor and your wife…and I said, 'And who might you be...and what are you doing here?' and you said, 'I'm the Doctor, that's Angela, and this is Miss Donna Noble…'"

"Yes, yes," the Doctor cut in softly, "You can stop now. I was there for that bit. We both were," he nodded over at Angel.

"Of course," Eddison nodded before belching into a handkerchief, "Excuse me."

Angel's eyes widened a bit at that, she was most certainly not _just_ drinking tea.

~8~

The Doctor and Agatha paced the room, discussing what they learned while Angel sat on the sofa, watching them, a bit amused at their pacing.

"No alibis for any of them," Agatha remarked, "The secret adversary remains hidden. We must look for a motive," she put on a Belgian accent, "Use the little grey cells."

"Oh yes, little grey cells," the Doctor nodded, "Good old Poirot," he dropped onto the sofa beside Angel, absently taking her hand left hand in his own left as he draped his right arm around her shoulders, "Y'know, Angela and I've been to Belgium. Yeah, I remember…" he smiled, thinking back to when he'd walked through the woods with a bow and quiver of arrows, Angel following behind him with a walking staff, "We were deep in the Ardennes trying to find Charlemagne…he'd been kidnapped by an insane computer…"

"Doctor! Doctor!"

"Sorry," he grinned sheepishly, snapping out of his thoughts.

That had been a day and a half, tracking the man through the woods. Well, it hadn't been all that difficult with Angel there, her senses were spot on as always and she'd led them right to the man and the computer. Of course the kidnapped man had been taken quite a distance away and they couldn't risk bringing the TARDIS in that close so they'd had to go on foot. One quick computer virus later and Charlemagne was free. They'd been the guests of honor at a feast that night, oh it had been quite the night. He wasn't much for dancing but Angel had been smiling so widely at the music that had been playing that he couldn't help but take her hand and pull her onto the small area where others were dancing. He'd made a right old fool out of himself, he really couldn't dance a step, but Angel had beamed at him and she had been so happy and amused by him that it hadn't mattered.

He loved that smile on her face, he loved seeing her that happy...

' _YOU make me that happy,_ ' she said in his mind, echoing the words he'd said to her so long ago in a New Earth Hospital.

He looked down at her, her eyes, her hot-chocolate eyes were shining up at him, conveying just how happy he really did make her, just by being with her. Just sitting there with his arms around her, she was happy and content.

He swallowed hard, his mind wandering, for one brief moment, to the thought that she would probably be content to die in his arms as well. He shook his head fiercely at that, it shouldn't be a thought in his mind, because it _wouldn't_ happen. He would save her. He would!

' _It's true though,_ ' she sighed, she didn't like to think about it, but it seemed it just kept getting brought up, ' _I want my very last day, whenever that might be, to be with you Theta._ '

He nodded, blinking back his tears as he kissed her head, ' _It will, I promise Nella, you won't be alone,_ ' he swore to himself.

It was the only thing she wanted when...no, _if_...she should die. She wanted to be with his companions, her family, again, to have them all with her, to have HIM with her. She hated death, he knew she did, he knew she wouldn't want to experience it alone. And he swore she never would. He'd be there, he'd be there holding her hand, holding her, he wouldn't leave her side for a moment.

And when it was over...well...he glanced at her, making sure she wouldn't hear his last thought...he still wouldn't leave her. If she left him, he'd follow her. He'd follow her anywhere.

"Charlemagne lived centuries ago," Agatha spoke again, pulling them both from their depressing thoughts and back to the mystery at hand.

"I've got a good memory. Angel's is better though. She remembers everyone."

"For such an experienced detective, you missed a big clue."

"Like the paper you found in the fireplace?" Angel smiled slyly at her.

"How did you see that!?" Agatha's eyes widened. She could have sworn Angel was facing the Doctor at the time.

"I'm psychic," she remarked.

Agatha gave her an odd look at that.

"She saw you reflected in the glass of the bookcase," the Doctor supplied, knowing that Agatha, for all her imagination and her mysteries, seemed to have a bit of a narrow-mind about certain things. They knew it was an alien, but if Agatha found out, they doubted she'd believe them.

"You crafty girl," Agatha shook her head at her, "This is all that was left," she pulled out the scrap of paper and held it up. The Doctor and Angel got up, the Doctor's arms tightening around Angel's waist as she stood too quickly and swayed a bit, Agatha watching the moment closely before they went to look at it.

"What's that first letter?" the Doctor squinted at the paper, "N or M?"

"It's an M. The word is 'maiden.'"

"Maiden!" he yelled, before whispering, "What does that mean?"

Angel shook her head, frowning as she took the paper from Agatha, "Maiden voyage, maiden name, iron maiden..."

Agatha shrugged, without context, they couldn't be certain, "We're still no further forward. Our nemesis remains at large. Unless Miss Noble has found something."

~8~

Donna searched the upstairs bedrooms, taking a little bit of enjoyment in getting to snoop through the guests' things for a bit, before stopping when she came to a locked door, the only locked door on the floor, trying to open it.

"You won't find anything in there," Greeves remarked, coming up behind her, silently, sneakily.

"Oh!" Donna spun around, "How come it's locked?"

"Lady Eddison commands it so."

"And I command it otherwise. Scotland Yard, pip-pip," Greeves went to unlock it, "Why is it locked in the first place?"

"Many years ago, when my father was butler to the family, Lady Eddison returned from India with malaria. She locked herself in this room for six months until she recovered. Since then, this room has remained…undisturbed," Donna opened the door and it creaked from having not been opened in a while, "There's nothing in here."

"How long's it been empty?"

The room had a vanity, some shelving, a fireplace, and a bed with...a little old teddy bear, odd that was. Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs, truly showing the age of it all.

"Forty years."

"Why would she seal it off?" she wondered, before shaking her head, ushering him out, "Alright, I need to investigate. You just…butle off," she closed the door behind her and walked in, picking up the teddy when she heard a buzzing, "1926, _they've_ still got bees," she walked over to the draped window, "Oh, what a noise! Alright, busy bee, I'll let you out. Hold on," she put on an accent, "I shall find you with my amazing powers of detection," she held up the magnifying glass and peered through it as she opened the drapes to see a _huge wasp_ outside the window, it broke through as she screamed, "That's impossible!" she backed up before making a move around the room so she was back before the window, avoiding it, "Doctor!"

~8~

Angel was sitting on the sofa still, rubbing her temples though, the Doctor beside her even as he spoke to Agatha, the two of them going through theories on what the paper could have been, who could have harmed Peach, and what was happening.

When she suddenly gasped, a shooting pain striking her head, "Donna!" she cried as the Doctor turned to her, only to see her leap up and race out of the room.

He was on his feet in an instant, running after her, faintly able to hear Donna shouting for them from the upper floors once he was in the hall.

~8~

Donna held the magnifying glass up to the sunlight, aiming the beam at the wasp. It screeched in pain, distracted by the burn it felt, so she could run for the door, slamming it behind her, "Angel!" she shouted as the stinger came through the closed door. She screamed again as the Doctor, Angel, and Agatha ran up, Angel panting for breath.

"Are you alright Donna?" Angel gasped, moving to hug Donna tightly, the ginger woman hugging her back in return, both of them shaking in the other's arms, "What happened?"

"There is a giant…wasp!" Donna pulled away.

"What do you mean, _giant wasp_?" the Doctor demanded, a hint of actual anger in his voice, praying his Mate hadn't made a mad dash out of that room, down the halls, and up the stairs, exerted herself, for a measly _insect_.

"I mean a wasp...that's giant!"

"It's only a silly little insect," Agatha frowned.

Angel shook her head, just knowing there was something more to it, "How big was it?"

Donna swallowed hard and put her hands on Angel's shoulders, needing HER at least to know that she hadn't just had a scare because of a tiny bug, "When I say 'giant,' I don't mean big, I mean flippin' enormous!" she pointed at the door, "Look at its sting!"

The Doctor's eyes widened, seeing it sticking through the wood, "Let me see!" he pushed the door open and ran inside to find it empty, though the window was broken, "It's gone. Buzzed off," he ran to the window.

"But that's fascinating…" Agatha murmured as she eyed the stinger, Donna standing beside Angel, supporting her just a bit as she still tried to catch her breath from the run.

"I don't think you should touch that," Angel warned, watching Agatha as she reached for the stinger.

" _Don't_ touch it," the Doctor agreed as he came over, "Don't touch it. Let me," he knelt down and pulled a vial with a stopper out of his pocket, gathering a sample of the sting substance in it, "Giant wasp…well, there are tons of amorphous insectivorous life forms but…none in this galactic vector."

"I think I understood some of those words," Agatha eyed him, "Enough to know that you're completely potty."

"I prefer completely mad," Angel smiled down at him, taking one final deep breath to gain it all back.

The Doctor smiled at that, recalling what Martha had said to him when they'd been on the moon.

' _My madman_ ,' Angel added quietly.

' _My angel_ ,' he winked back at her.

"Lost its sting, though," Donna called, her hand absently rubbing Angel's back as she calmed completely, "That makes it defenseless."

"A creature this size?" the Doctor scoffed, "Gotta be able to grow a new one."

"Uh, can we return to sanity?" Agatha stared, "There are no such things as giant wasps."

"Exactly! So…the question is, what's it doing here?"

~8~

Miss Chandrakala stood in the kitchen, making sure the servants kept working as usual despite everything that had happened, "A murder?" one of the servants said, "That's put the cat amongst the pigeons, and no mistake."

"It is _not_ the stuff of gossip, Mrs. Hart," Chandrakala cut in, "Continue your work."

"But who'd want to do in the old professor?" Davenport wondered as he polished the sliver, "He was always asking questions about that book of his. What was all that about?"

"A dead man's folly, nothing more. Though," she stiffened, her mind wandering, "Perhaps if he asked about…" she gasped, "I must go and see my lady!" she turned and left, rushing outside to get round the house and to the other side faster. She had to warn Lady Eddison quickly, the matter was far more serious than the woman knew if the professor was asking questions about THAT.

She'd just reached the drive when she stopped, hearing a buzzing noise, a terribly familiar buzzing noise. She looked up only to see a gargoyle on the top of the house fall towards her...and screamed.

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, Donna, and Agatha walked down the stairs, when they heard someone scream and ran outside to find Miss Chandrakala crushed by a gargoyle, "The poor...little...child..." the woman breathed before she died.

"Oh my God," Angel gasped, staring in horror at the woman, she hadn't even _sensed_ it. _Nothing_. Not even the shiver she'd grown so used to whenever someone nearby was killed due to an enemy or alien. Absolutely nothing...but...she'd sensed Donna, true it had been far, far too close to the actual event, much like it had been far too close a call in saving Martha on Messaline, but she'd sensed that Donna needed them.

But this?

This was...this was bad.

This was very, _very_ bad.

They looked up, hearing a loud buzzing, "There!" the Doctor shouted, seeing the wasp dart past them and towards the house, "Come on!" they ran back inside after it, following it up the stairs.

"Well, this makes a change," Donna remarked, "There's a monster and _we're_ chasing _it_."

"Can't be a monster," Agatha insisted, "It's a trick. They do it with mirrors," until they reached the top of the stairs and stopped, actually seeing the giant wasp, "By all that's holy…"

"Oh, but you are wonderful!" the Doctor beamed as the wasp faced him, and his grin fell seeing it prepare its stinger, realizing Angel was beside him, "Now, just stop there…"

The wasp ignored him, rushing at them, stinger first.

The Doctor pulled Angel down, ducking as it passed, covering her with himself in the process.

"Oi!" Donna shouted, glaring at it for attacking her sister, "Flyboy!" she held up the magnifying glass, startling it till it flew away.

"Don't let it get away! Quick, before it reverts to human form!" they chased after it, into the hallway where the guests were staying, "Where are you? Come on! There's nowhere to run…show yourself!" the doors in the hallway opened and everyone stared back at him, "Oh…that's just cheating," he let out a little pout and looked at Angel, "Any feelings about this?" he gestured at the men and women watching them.

She bit her lip and shook her head, this really was very, very not good...

~8~

Lady Eddison wept as they all gathered in the sitting room, to learn what happened to the housekeeper, "My faithful companion! This is terrible!"

"Excuse me, my lady," Davenport called, "She was on her way to tell you something."

"She never found me. She had an appointment with death instead!"

"Before she..." Angel paused, "She said, 'the poor little child,'" and looked at her, "Do you know what she meant by that?"

"No children in this house for years," Hugh shook his head before glancing at his son, "Highly unlikely there will be."

"Mrs. Christie, you must have twigged something," Eddison looked at her, "You've written simply the _best_ detective stories."

"Tell us…what would Poirot do?" the Reverend agreed.

"Heaven's sake!" Hugh slammed his fist on his armrest, "Cards on the table, woman! You should be helping us!"

"But…I'm merely a writer," Agatha countered.

"But surely you can crack it," Robina remarked, "These events, they're exactly like one of your plots."

"That's what I've been saying," Donna nodded, "Agatha, that's got to _mean_ something."

"But what?" Agatha shook her head, "I've no answers. None. I'm sorry, all of you, I'm truly sorry, but I've failed. If anyone can help us, it's the Doctor, not me," everyone turned to look at the Doctor as he stood beside Angel by the fireplace, not even looking at them but seeming to be comforting his wife, whispering quietly to her as they stood to the side, oblivious of the humans' distress, the man's focus on soothing his distressed wife, quite likely upset over the death she'd witnessed...

~8~

Donna wandered out onto the grounds to find Agatha sitting in a small gazebo, Angel had offered to go check on the woman when she had wandered off after the others departed, but...she was worried about Angel. The girl looked alarmed and upset about something and she knew Angel needed to be with the Doctor so he could calm her. She'd told the girl to stay there, let HER try her hand at comforting someone. Angel had just smiled and said she'd do brilliantly. She doubted it, but there she was, trying at least.

"Do you know what I think?" she asked, moving to join Agatha, "Those books of yours, one day they could turn them into films. They could be talking pictures."

"Talking pictures? Pictures that…talk? What do you mean?"

"Oh blimey, I've done it again."

"I appreciate you trying to be kind, but you're right, these murders are like my own creations. It's as though someone's mocking me. I've had enough scorn for one lifetime."

"Yeah. Thing is, I had this bloke once, I was engaged, and I loved him, or I thought I did. Turns out he was lying through his teeth. But you know what? I moved on. I was lucky, I found the Doctor and Angel, er, Angela. It changed my life. There's always someone else."

"I see," Agatha stiffened, "Is my marriage the stuff of gossip now?"

"No, I just…sorry."

Agatha sighed, "No matter. The stories are true. I found my husband with another woman. A younger, prettier woman. Isn't that always the way?"

"Well, mine was with a giant spider but same difference."

Agatha laughed, "You and the Doctor talk such wonderful nonsense," she paused a moment, "Angel," she stated, letting Donna know she was aware of the woman's other alias, she'd heard the ginger shouting it earlier, "She doesn't say much though does she?"

Donna frowned, tears coming to her eyes, "She used to. All the time. Half of it was just nonsense but…it always somehow had something to do with what we were dealing with…she's…" she swallowed hard, "She's very ill and I think, at times, she feels worse than she lets on 'cos she doesn't want to worry us. She doesn't talk as much, no, but…when she does…it's usually important."

"She's very lucky to have a sister like you Donna," Agatha smiled at her gently, truly feeling for the women, "To be so well loved."

"Agatha, people love your books too, they _really_ do," Donna told her, trying to change the subject but still keep it relevant, "They're gonna be reading them for years to come."

"Hello," Agatha breathed, spotting something on the grass, "What's that?" she got up, "Those flowerbeds were perfectly neat earlier," she walked over, "Now some of the stalks are bent over," and picked up a small leather box.

"There you go!" Donna smiled, "Who'd ever notice that? You're _brilliant_."

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, Donna, and Agatha stood around the sitting room as Agatha placed the box before them on a table. The Doctor opened it to find a mess of tools, lock-picking tools to be more exact, "Oh…someone came tooled up…the sort of stuff a thief would use," the Doctor commented.

"The Unicorn, he's here!" Agatha breathed.

"He, or she," Angel corrected as they hadn't any solid proof it was a man.

"The Unicorn and the wasp," the Doctor muttered.

"Your drinks, ladies, Doctor," Greeves entered with a tray.

"Very good, Greeves," the Doctor thanked him as they took their drinks.

Angel sighed, taking the glass of water but not doing anything with it...till she caught sight of the Doctor watching her. She really wasn't hungry or thirsty anymore, her stomach...it hurt. It twisted more than when she thought something bad was going to happen and it just...there were times where it was so upset she almost felt like she was about to be sick. But it hadn't quite got that bad yet.

She knew though that the Doctor was always watching her, making sure she ate and drank to keep up her strength despite knowing it would only be a little help, if any. She took a sip of water, smiling a bit when she saw him beam at her for it, before turning to look out the window. Well, more like just...stand closer to it, it was a very nice sunny day out, the room was warm enough, but she still felt a bit of a chill and thought, perhaps, standing in the sunlight would help.

"What about the science stuff?" Donna asked, looking at the Doctor as he sat down, his gaze on Angel though, "What did you find?"

He was silent and Donna looked at him, she took it back, his gaze wasn't just on Angel, it was focused on her. She had to smile at that, the man was so gone about her in the most adorable way. It always made her sigh happily when she saw his attention get pulled to Angel and just...look at her.

And right now how could he not? She was standing at the window, illuminated by the sunlight, just...glowing despite the situation and her health. She was leaning her head on the glass, staring out at the garden with a smile and, in that moment, she looked breathtaking. Well, she always looked it to him, but now he was sure anyone else who looked at her would see it too.

"Doctor?" Donna called again, knowing that they really should focus on the alien trying to kill them at the moment.

"Hmm," he looked over, "Right, Vespiform sting. Vespiforms have got hives in the Silifax Galaxy."

"Again you talk like Edward Lear," Agatha remarked.

"For some reason, this one's behaving like a character in one of your books."

"Come on, Agatha," Donna looked at her, "What would Miss Marple do? She'd've overheard something vital by now because the murderer thinks she's just a harmless old lady."

"Clever idea," Agatha thought on it, "Miss Marple, who writes those?"

"Um, Copyright: Donna Noble. Add it to the list."

"Donna," the Doctor shook his head at her with a smile, taking a sip of the drink.

"No!" Angel shouted, spinning around, "Don't drink it!"

But it was too late, the Doctor tensed, "Something's inhibiting my enzymes!" he jerked forward as Angel rushed to his side.

"It was poison!" Angel knelt beside him as he convulsed.

"What do we do?" Donna asked, "What do we do?"

"Help me get him up," Angel said, struggling to get the twitching Doctor to stand.

"Bitter almonds," Agatha sniffed the glass, "It's cyanide. Sparkling cyanide!"

She quickly got up and followed as the two ginger women helped the Doctor out of the room and down the hall towards the kitchens. The Doctor staggered out of their hold and grabbed Davenport by the lapels, "Ginger beer!"

"I beg your pardon?" Davenport gaped.

"I need ginger beer!" he shouted, running to the shelves.

"The gentleman's gone mad!" Mrs. Hart cried as he grabbed the beer and drank it, pouring the rest over his head.

"I'm an expert in poisons, Doctor," Agatha cried, "It's fatal! There's no cure!"

The Doctor spit out the drink and grabbed Angel's arm as she tried to keep him steady, "Not for me! I can stimulate the inhibited enzymes into reversal. Protein! I need protein!"

Donna and Agatha turned to search the kitchen, "Walnuts!" Donna shouted, handing them over.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor stuffed his mouth with them before trying to talk.

"I can't understand you!" Donna gasped, "Angel what's he saying?!"

Angel could only shake her head, whatever method he had wasn't one typically taught on Gallifrey, it had to be one he'd picked up on his travels. She didn't know what it was and...she couldn't see it in his mind...because she couldn't focus, her head was pounding, her hearts were racing, she was shaking, and she felt like she couldn't breathe...and it had _nothing_ to do with her illness at the moment, but the Doctor, he was in danger...

And she was _scared_.

The Doctor shook his hand, miming something, "How many words?" Donna asked, he held up a finger, "One. One word. Shake? Milk? Shake? Milk? Milk! No, not milk. U, shake, shake, shake, cocktail shaker! What do you want, a Harvey Wallbanger?"

He swallowed, "Harvey Wallbanger?!"

"Well, I don't _know_!"

"How is Harvey Wallbanger _one_ word?"

"Salt!" Angel realized with a gasp, finally working it out.

"Salt!" he nodded, "I was miming salt! Salt! I need something salty!"

"What about this?" Donna held up a brown bag.

"What is it?"

"It's salt."

"That's too salty!"

"Oh, that's too salty."

"What about this?" Agatha held out a jar to him.

"Hmm," he took it and poured it into his mouth.

"What's that?" Angel swallowed, her hand resting on the table beside her to brace herself...she was starting to hear a ringing in her ears...

"Anchovies," Agatha panted.

The Doctor then gestured again, his hands up, palms flashing out.

"What is it?" Donna shook her head, "What else? It's a song. 'Mammy.' I don't know, 'Camptown Races?'"

"'Camptown Races?!'" he exclaimed.

"Well, alright then. 'Towering Inferno.'"

"It's a shock! Look! Shock! I need a shock!"

"Got it!" Angel pulled him towards her and into a kiss. She could only really guess from her experience but kissing the Doctor made her feel like she was being electrified, and he'd said on more than one occasion that kissing her felt like he was being shocked in the best way…she could only hope that would hold true now.

And apparently it did, as, a moment later, he threw his head back and black smoke flew out of his mouth, he groaned, "Ah! Detox," he wiped his mouth on his sleeve, "I must do that more often."

"What, get poisoned?" Donna eyed him as though he were mad.

"I meant the…the detox, though the kiss was rather spectacular too…" he turned to Angel to see her shaking horribly. His eyes widened and he quickly pulled her into his arms as her legs nearly gave out, the poor girl gasping for breath, both from the kiss and the terror she'd felt, tears in her eyes.

"That was close," Angel murmured as he held her, "That was entirely far too close. Don't you _ever_ do that again!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I promise," he squeezed her tightly, "I promise."

"You're not allowed to go anywhere," she told him, her voice but a whisper in his ear, "Not before me."

He just closed his eyes, holding her even closer, his hand running through her hair as he felt her shaking still.

~8~

That night there was a thunderstorm as everyone gathered for dinner, "A terrible day for all of us," the Doctor began, "The professor struck down, Miss Chandrakala cruelly taken from us, and yet...we still take dinner."

"We are British, Doctor," Eddison stated stiffly, "What else must we do?"

"And then someone tried to poison me…" the Doctor glared at them, more for the fright they'd put Angel through in doing so than any danger he might have been in, Angel took his hand, squeezing it tightly, "Any one of you had the chance to put cyanide in my drink. But it rather gave me an idea."

"And what would that be?" the Reverend eyed him.

"Well, poison," he replied as everyone stopped eating, "Drink up," he smiled while they looked at him, "I've laced the soup with pepper."

"Ah, I thought it was jolly spicy," Hugh chuckled.

"But the active ingredient of pepper is piperine," he continued, "Traditionally used as an insecticide," thunder cracked behind him, "Oh, anyone got the shivers?"

The thunder crashed once more as the lights went out, one of the windows burst open, snuffing out the candles.

"What the deuce is _that_?" Hugh shouted, hearing something odd.

"Listen!" the Doctor called, silencing them, "Listen! Listen! Listen!"

A loud buzz echoed.

"No…no, it can't be!" Eddison cried.

Agatha got up, "Show yourself, demon!"

"Nobody move!" the Doctor shouted, "No, don't! Stay where you are!"

The Vespiform showed itself, the giant wasp floating above them in the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww, Angel was scared to lose the Doctor :'( I think anyone would be scared of that but poor her. He wanted a nice calm trip and ended up with that -sigh-
> 
> But...next chapter we get the promised 'bathtub' scene...which, now that I think about it sounds more fun and happy than it actually is...oops, there's a teaser for you :)


	29. The Unicorn and the Wasp: Agatha Christie

Greeves quickly pulled Donna and Angel out of the room when the wasp readied its stinger as the Doctor grabbed Agatha's arm, "Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!" he ran into the hallway where Greeves, Donna, and Angel were waiting, "Not you, Agatha. You've got a long life to lead yet," he pulled a sword from a wall display, ready to defend not only the humans but his Mate as well. This was the second time that wasp had tried to attack her and he would NOT stand for it.

"Well we know the butler didn't do it," Donna panted, trying to lighten the mood.

"Then who did?" the Doctor wondered, before pushing the door open and dashing back into the dining room, only to find the lights had been restored but the Vespiform was gone.

"My jewelry…the Firestone, it's gone!" Eddison cried, swiping at her neck where her rather large necklace was missing, "Stolen!"

Angel though...her gaze was not on the woman fretting about her jewelry, but the woman's son as he remained at the table.

"Roger…" Davenport whimpered, catching sight of what she had.

Robina screamed as Eddison ran to his side, "My son…my child!"

Roger was lying in his soup, unmoving, a knife in his back.

Angel swallowed hard, a pit forming in her already unsettled stomach, she hadn't felt that one either.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel stood by the fireplace, speaking quietly as Agatha sat by the sofa, her head in her hands, "I didn't even _sense_ it," Angel breathed, staring at the fire with tears in her eyes. It was just like before, with the housekeeper. She'd been hoping it was a 'fluke' as the humans would say, just...something that she'd missed. Even being psychic she couldn't see everything, she'd been so hoping it was just that, but this? For it to happen a second time? It was too much of a coincidence, it...it seemed to be becoming a pattern.

And that scared her. That scared her more than a lot of things. Because...on the _Valiant_ , her feelings and senses had started to fade as well, right around this time too. But...then...they'd worked out that it was because she was dying and...probably wouldn't regenerate. If she died due to her connection to the TARDIS, IF she regenerated, she'd just...keep dying, over and over because the TARDIS would have still been a Paradox Machine. But...she would have still been there at least. That was why they feared she wouldn't regenerate. If she didn't have a future, how could she see the future? The fact that her feelings and visions had started to fade as did her health had worried the Doctor immensely. It was just another sign that she probably wouldn't regenerate.

They'd been hoping that now, with the TARDIS free, that she might regenerate at the end, since, after, the TARDIS _wouldn't_ be a Paradox Machine any longer, that she'd regenerate and be healthy again. But now, for her feelings to start fading in exactly the same way, for the same reason it seemed...things were NOT looking well for her. She was terrified to think that it could be a sign that she didn't have a future again, that the death would be permanent.

"You sensed Donna and me," the Doctor reminded her, taking her hand, squeezing it, hearing where her thoughts were going and refusing to let her go there.

"Almost too late," she countered, not looking at him, "I used to be able to sense other people, just _knowing_ something was about to happen and help them…" she swallowed hard, "How long is it going to be before I can't even help you and Donna?"

She hadn't kept track of that on the _Valiant_. There had been little danger in terms of the Doctor on that ship, it was the same day in and day out. She hadn't had to sense any looming danger for him as he was, relatively, safe there. She really didn't know how long it would be before that day came where she wouldn't be able to save him.

"You always save me," he cut into her thoughts, "Always, and not just through your visions," he reminded her, "You've saved me in so many other ways, the visions are just a small part of it," he reached out and gently turned her head to look up at him, tears in her eyes that broke his heart, "We'll figure something out. It'll be alright."

"How?" she whispered, her voice breaking.

"We promised to take care of each other," he reminded her lightly, kissing the back of her hand, "You've taken such good care of me, now it's my turn. Don't worry about if you can or can't help me or Donna, just let _us_ help _you_. Yeah?"

She nodded slowly, trusting that he and Donna would be alright even without her. Though she hated to think of it, the Doctor HAD lasted centuries before he'd had her around, travelling the Universe with his companions. She had to believe he'd be ok even if her feelings went completely. She had been honest when she'd spoken to Wilf, Donna really did look after them quite a bit and, between the Doctor and his ginger companion, they'd be able to keep each other safe when she couldn't. Donna really did see quite a few things she missed even when she had her visions or feelings, her sister was remarkable like that. Donna would help her keep the Doctor safe when the visions and feelings went completely.

"That poor footman," Donna said, entering the room, drawing their attention away from their small issue, "Roger's dead and he can't even _mourn_ him. 1926. It's more like the dark ages," she sat down heavily on the sofa beside Agatha.

"Did you inquire about the necklace?" Agatha looked at the woman.

"Lady Eddison brought it back from India. It's worth thousands."

"This thing can sting," the Doctor said, "It can fly, it could wipe us all out in seconds...why is it playing this game?"

"Every murder is essentially the same, they are committed because somebody wants something," Agatha remarked.

"What could a giant wasp want though?" Angel frowned.

"Stop it," Agatha sighed, "The murderer is as human as you or I."

"You're right," the Doctor realized, "I've been so caught up with giant wasps, I've forgotten," he moved to sit on a second sofa across from Agatha, pulling Angel gently to sit beside him, " _You're_ the expert."

"Look, I told you. I'm just a…purveyor of nonsense."

"Oh, no, no, no, no, 'cos plenty of people write detective stories, but yours are the best. And why? Why are you so good, Agatha Christie? Because you understand. You've lived…you've fought…you've had your heart broken. You know about people, their passions, their hope and despair and anger, all of those. Tiny huge things can turn the most ordinary person into a killer. Just think, Agatha. If anyone can solve this, it's _you_."

~8~

The Doctor stood before the guests and hosts, all gathered in the sitting room, "I've called you here on this endless night because we have a murderer in our midst. And when it comes to detection, there's none finer…ladies and gentlemen, I give you...Agatha Christie," he turned and walked to the side of the room, sitting beside Angel on a small cushioned bench as Donna sat beside her. He took her hand as soon as he sat, his thumb lightly running over her knuckles.

"This is a crooked house…a house of secrets," Agatha moved to the spot before the fireplace, "To understand the solution, we must examine them all. Starting with you…Miss Redmond."

"But I'm innocent, surely," Robina gave her an innocent look.

"You've never met these people and these people never met you. I think the _real_ Robina Redmond never left London. You're impersonating her!"

"How silly. What proof do you have?"

"You said you'd been to the toilet…"

"Oh, I know this," Donna smiled as she ate some popcorn, "If she was really posh, she'd say 'loo,'" she held out the small bag to Angel, offering her some.

She started to shake her head to decline when the Doctor squeezed her hand lightly, "Just one," he whispered in her ear, pleading with her.

She sighed but took a single piece. She looked at him and offered him a small smile before she tossed it up and caught it in her mouth, making him beam at the familiar action, he hadn't seen it in quite a while. She smiled at seeing that grin on his face and took another piece of popcorn, however not for her to eat. Instead, she held it up to him, offering him the snack as well.

He leaned in and ate it from her fingers, pressing a soft kiss to them despite them being glove-covered at the moment.

"Earlier today, Miss Noble and I found this on the lawn…" Agatha continued to Robina, not noticing the small moment going on at the side of the room as she held up the tool case, "Right beneath _your_ bathroom window. You must have heard Miss Noble was searching the bedrooms and you panicked. You ran upstairs and disposed of the evidence."

"I've never seen that thing before in my life," Robina shook her head.

"What's inside it?" Eddison eyed it.

"The tools of your trade, Miss Redmond, or should I say…the Unicorn!" Agatha opened the case to reveal the lock picking tools, "You came to this house with one sole intention, to steal the Firestone!"

"Oh, alright then," Robina said, now in a cockney accent, "It's a fair cop," she got up, "Yes, I'm the bleedin' Unicorn. Ever so nice to meet you, I don't think. I took my chance in the dark and nabbed it," she pulled out the necklace, reaching under her dress strap for it, "Go on then, ya nobs, arrest me. Sling me in jail," she tossed it over and the Doctor caught it.

"So...is _she_ the murderer?" Donna munched away, amused to see a real murder mystery play out before her AND be solved by Agatha Christie herself!

"Don't be so thick. I might be a thief but I ain't no killer."

"Quite," Agatha nodded, "There are darker motives at work, and, in examining this household…we come to you…Colonel."

"Damn it, woman!" Hugh slapped his armrest, "You with your perspicacity! You've rumbled me!"

He...stood up.

"You…you can _walk_?" Eddison gaped, "But why?"

"My darling," he knelt before her, "How else could I be certain of keeping you by my side?"

"I don't understand."

"You're still a beautiful woman, Clemency. Sooner or later, some chap will turn your head. I couldn't bear that. Staying in the chair was the only way I could be certain of keeping you. Confound it, Mrs. Christie!" he looked at her, "How did you discover the truth?"

"Um, actually, I had no idea," Agatha smiled, "I was just going to say you were completely innocent."

"Ah…oh…" he nodded, embarrassed.

"Sorry."

"Well, shall I sit down then?"

"I think you better had."

"So he's _not_ the murderer?" Donna looked around.

"Indeed not," Agatha confirmed, "To find the truth…let's return…" the Doctor handed her the Firestone, "…to this, far more than the Unicorn's object of desire. The Firestone has quite a history Lady Eddison."

"I've done nothing!" Eddison cried.

"You brought it back from India, did you not? _Before_ you met the Colonel. You came home with malaria and confined yourself to this house for six months, in a room that has been locked ever since, which I rather think means…"

"Stop, please!"

"I'm so sorry. But you had fallen pregnant in India…unmarried and ashamed, you hurried back to England with your confidante, a young maid, later to become housekeeper, Miss Chandrakala."

"Clemency!" Hugh gasped, "Is this true?"

"My poor baby," she cried, "I had to give him away. Oh, the shame of it."

"But you've never said a word!"

"I had no choice. Imagine the scandal, the family name. I'm British, I carry on."

"And it was no ordinary pregnancy," the Doctor cut in.

"How can you know that?" Eddison looked at him, alarmed.

"Excuse me, Agatha, this is my territory," he stood up and joined her at the fireplace, "But when you heard that buzzing sound in the dining room, you said, 'It can't be.' Why did you say that?"

"You'd never believe it…"

"The Doctor has opened my mind to believe…many things," Agatha sat down.

"It was forty years ago…in the heat of Delhi one night. I was alone and that's when I saw it, a dazzling light in the sky. The next day, he came to the house. Christopher, the most handsome man I'd ever seen. Our love blazed like a wildfire and I held nothing back. And in return, he showed me the incredible truth about himself. He made himself human to learn about us. This was his true shape. I loved him so much it didn't matter. But he was stolen from me. 1885, the year of the Great Monsoon. The River Jumna rose up and broke its banks. He was taken at the flood. But Christopher left me a parting gift, a jewel like no other," she nodded at the Firestone, "I wore it always. Part of me never forgot. I keep it close. Always."

"Just like a man," the Unicorn scoffed, "Flashes his family jewels and you end up with a bun in the oven."

"A 'poor little child,'" Agatha realized, "Forty years ago Miss Chandrakala took that newborn babe to an orphanage. But professor Peach worked it out. He found the birth certificate."

"Oh, that's 'maiden,' maiden name," Donna worked it out.

"Precisely. "

"So _she_ killed him," Donna looked at Eddison.

"I did not!" the woman cried.

"Miss Chandrakala feared that the professor had unearthed your secret," Agatha continued, "She was coming to warn you."

"So she _killed_ her," Donna repeated.

"I did not!"

"Lady Eddison is innocent," Agatha agreed, "Because at this point…Doctor?"

"Thank you," the Doctor stepped forward, "Because at this point when we consider the lies and secrets and the key to these events, then we have to consider…it was you, Donna Noble…" he pointed at Donna.

"What?" Donna blinked, "Who did I kill?"

"No one," Angel reassured her, "He's just being dramatic."

The Doctor pouted, but continued, "You said it all along, the vital clue, that this whole thing is being acted out like a murder mystery. Which means…it was you, Agatha Christie," he pointed at Agatha.

"I beg your pardon, sir?" she asked.

"So _she_ killed them?" Donna guessed.

"No, but she wrote," the Doctor said, "She wrote those brilliant, clever books. And who's her greatest admirer? The moving finger points…at you, Lady Eddison," he pointed at Eddison next.

"Leave me alone!" Eddison shouted.

"Doctor!" Angel chastised, seeing Eddison getting so upset.

He pouted again but lowered his finger.

"So she _did_ kill them?" Donna frowned, confused.

"I have no idea anymore," Angel sighed, rubbing her head, she'd been trying to keep up but...hadn't managed it.

"Me either," Donna grumbled, "Can't ever get a straight answer out of him can you?"

Angel smiled at that.

"Just think…last Thursday night, what were you doing?" the Doctor turned to Eddison.

"Uh, I was uh…I was in the library," she replied, "I was reading my favorite Agatha Christie thinking about her plots, and how clever she must be," she shook her head, "How is that relevant?"

"Just think, what happened Thursday night?" the Doctor turned to the Reverend.

"I'm sorry?" the Reverend shook his head.

"You said on the lawn this afternoon, last Thursday, those boys broke into your church."

"That's correct…they did. I discovered the two of them, thieves in the night. I was most perturbed. But I apprehended them."

"Really? A man of God against two strong lads? A man in his forties? Or, should I say, forty years old…exactly."

"Oh, my God!" Eddison stared at him.

"Lady Eddison, your child, how old would he be now?"

"Forty. He's…forty."

"Your child has come home."

"Ha!" the Reverend chuckled, "This is poppycock!"

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow, "You said you were taught by the Christian fathers, meaning, raised in an orphanage."

"My son!" Eddison looked at the Reverend in tears, "Can it be?"

"You found those thieves, Reverend, and you got angry. A proper, deep anger for the first time in your life and it broke the genetic code. You changed. You realized your inheritance. After all these years…you _knew_ who you were. Oh, then it all kicks off 'cos this…" he held up the Firestone, "…isn't just a jewel, it's a Vespiform telepathic recorder. It's part of you, your brain, your very essence. And when you activated, so did the Firestone. It beamed your full identity directly into your mind. And, at the same time, it absorbed the works of Agatha Christie directly from Lady Eddison. It all became part of you. The mechanics of those novels formed a template in your brain. You killed in this pattern because that's what you think the world is. Turns out we are in the middle of a murder mystery. One of yours, Dame Agatha," he turned and sat back down beside Angel.

"'Dame?'" Agatha frowned.

"Oh, sorry, not yet," he smiled apologetically.

"So _he_ killed them?" Donna looked at the Reverend, "Yes? _Definitely_?"

"Yes," Angel nodded, just _barely_ keeping up with the Doctor's finishing speech, the man was the Vespiform in human shape.

"Well, this has certainly been a most entertaining evening," the Reverend stood, "Really, you can't believe any of this, surely, Lady Eddizzz…"

"Lady who?" the Doctor asked calmly as the man started buzzing.

"Lady Eddizzzon…"

"Little bit of buzzing there, Vicar?"

" _Don't_ make me angry."

"Why? What happens then?"

"Damn it! You humanzzz! Worshipping your tribal sky godzzz! I am so much more! That night, the Universe exploded in my mind! I wanted to take what wazz mine. And you, Agatha Christie, with your railway station bookstall romancezzz…what'zzz to stop me killing you?"

"Oh, my dear God!" Eddison reached out to him, "My child!"

"What'zzz to stop me killing you all?" the Reverend demanded, transforming into the wasp.

"Forgive me!"

"No, Clemency!" Hugh shouted as he and Greeves pulled her out of the room, knowing the man was capable of killing her, he'd killed their son after all, "Keep away! Keep away, my darling!"

"No!" Agatha held up the Firestone, "No more murder! If my imagination made you kill, then my imagination will find a way to stop you foul creature!" and she ran out of the room, the Doctor, Angel, Donna, and the Vespiform following her.

"Wait!" Donna called, "Now _it's_ chasing _us_!"

They ran outside and closed the doors behind them to see Agatha drive past in her car, honking the horn.

"Come on!" the Doctor said, running towards her car when the Vespiform broke through the door.

"Over here!" Agatha yelled, "Come and get me, Reverend!"

"Agatha, what are you doing?" Angel shouted.

"If I started this, then I must stop it!" Agatha drove off.

The Doctor ran to another car, jumping in along with Angel and Donna, "Come on!"

The Vespiform hesitated before flying after Agatha, the Doctor sonicing the engine to start and racing after them.

~8~

"It's all my fault," Agatha mumbled, frantic, thinking about the three humans who had been murdered because of her writings, "It's all my fault. It's all my fault."

~8~

"You said this is the night Agatha Christie loses her memory!" Donna yelled.

"Time is in flux, Donna!" the Doctor argued, "For all we know, this is the night Agatha Christie loses her life and history gets changed!"

"But where is she going?!" Donna asked.

~8~

Agatha drove quickly as the wasp tried to stop her.

~8~

"The Lake!" Angel called, spotting a sign on the road, 'Silent Pool,' "Why's she heading for the lake?!"

"What's she doing?" the Doctor wondered.

~8~

Agatha stopped beside the lake and got out of the car, just as the Doctor, Angel, and Donna arrived. She held up the Firestone, "Here I am! The honey in the trap. Come to me, Vespiform."

"She's controlling it," Donna breathed, watching as the wasp slowed and just hovered before her.

"It's mind is based on her thought processes," the Doctor realized, "They're linked."

"Quite so, Doctor," Agatha agreed, "If I die, then this creature might die with me."

"Don't hurt her!" Angel pleaded with the Vespiform, "Please!"

"You're not meant to be like this," the Doctor added, "You've got the wrong template in your mind."

"He's not listening!" Donna shouted, seeing the wasp prepare its stinger, and grabbed the Firestone from Agatha, tossing it in the lake. The wasp dove straight into the water after it, the water bubbling and glowing purple as they stood by and watched in sorrow, "How do you kill a wasp? Drown it. Just like its father."

"Donna, that thing couldn't help itself."

"Neither could I."

"Death comes as the end," Agatha nodded, "And justice is served."

"Murder at the Vicar's Rage," the Doctor said as Donna rolled her eyes and Angel shook her head, "Needs a bit of work."

"Just one mystery left," Agatha turned to the three of them, "Who exactly are you?"

The Doctor opened his mouth to fish for an answer, when Agatha hunched over in pain, grabbing her head. The Doctor caught her, lowering her to the ground, "Oh! It's the Firestone! It's part of the Vespiform's mind! It's dying and it's connected to Agatha!"

Agatha briefly glowed purple before it faded and she simply fell unconscious.

"It let her go," Angel smiled, letting out a breath of relief.

"Right at the end, the Vespiform chose to save someone's life."

"Is she alright, though?" Donna looked at Agatha.

"Oh, of course! The amnesia! Wiped her mind of everything that happened. The wasp, the murders…"

"And us," Donna said sadly, "She'll forget about us."

"Yeah, but we solved another riddle. The mystery of Agatha Christie. And tomorrow morning, her car gets found by the side of the lake. A few days later, she turns up at a hotel in Harrogate…with no idea of what just happened."

~8~

Agatha paused outside some stone steps leading up to the front lawn of a large stone building, the Harrogate Hotel, before turning and looking back out see the Doctor, Angel, and Donna, standing before the TARDIS, "No one'll ever know what happened," Angel sighed as Agatha climbed the steps, not giving them a second thought.

"Lady Eddison, the colonel, and all the staff, what about them?" Donna shook her head, _they_ knew.

"A shameful story," the Doctor guessed, "They'd never talk of it, too British. While the Unicorn does a bunk back to London Town, she can never say she was there."

"But what happens to Agatha?"

"Oh, great life! Met another man, married again. Saw the world. Wrote and wrote and wrote."

"She never thought her books were any good, though. And she must have spent all those years wondering."

~8~

"Thing is, I don't think she ever _quite_ forgot," the Doctor was saying as he dug beneath the grilling of the TARDIS for something, "Great mind like that, some of the details kept bleeding through. All the stuff her imagination could use. Like Miss Marple!"

"I should have made her sign a contract," Donna joked.

"And…where is it?" the Doctor grumbled, "Hold on…here we go," he lifted a section of the floor and pulled out a chest, "'C,'" he opened it, "That is 'C' for Cyberman…" he tossed aside a chest plate, "'C' for Carrionites," he set the globe they were imprisoned in down, as well as a bust of Caesar, "And…" he pulled out a paperback, "Christie, Agatha," he held it up to Donna, "Look at that."

Donna's eyes widened as he saw a copy of _Death in the Clouds_ with a large wasp on the cover, "She _did_ remember."

"Got stuck in her head," Angel smiled, "Tucked away in the back of her mind."

"And that's not all," the Doctor grinned, "Look at the copyright page."

Donna took the book and looked inside, "'Facsimile edition published in the year…5 billion!?'"

"People _never_ stop reading them. She is the best-selling novelist of all time."

"But she never knew."

"No one ever knows how they'll be remembered," Angel reasoned, "We just...hope for the best," she shrugged, "Maybe that's why she kept writing."

"The same thing that keeps me travelling," the Doctor admitted, "Onwards?"

"Onwards," Donna agreed as Angel nodded, the Doctor and her setting the controls with a smile.

~8~

The Doctor paused when he entered the bedroom, hearing water running inside the bathroom and seeing steam seep out from under the door. He nodded to himself, so _that's_ where Angel had got to. He'd been looking for her, the TARDIS being no help at all, in fact, it was almost like the old box was hiding Angel from him for some reason. He didn't know why, he just wanted to see if she was feeling even a little better, if he could make her something to eat, bit of toast, some tea, anything really. But the TARDIS had shifted the halls and not brought her up on the scans he'd run, it wasn't till he threatened the box that he'd tell Angel what it was doing and that she'd be very cross, that the box _finally_ led him to the bedroom door.

"Angel?" he knocked lightly on the door.

"You can come in," she called, him barely able to hear her over the noise of the water.

He opened the door and stepped in, his hearts breaking at the sight. Angel was in their spacious tub, the water running seemingly as hot as it could go, the drain opened to the point where it was a constant level of water, draining and refilling at just the right speed so as not to pour over the sides...but she was curled up in a little ball, her legs to her chest, completely clothed, still in her green dress though without the heels, boa, or headband.

"What are you doing?" he asked, shutting the door behind him. The room was full of a faint steam, small vent fans running above him to suck just enough out where he could see through it but not enough to remove it completely, keeping even the air warm.

She was quiet for a long while, so long that he wasn't sure if she'd heard him over the running water, till she closed her eyes tightly, "I'm cold," she breathed and he could see her shivering despite the hot water, "I'm just...so _cold_ ," she sniffled, and he could see tears in her eyes when she looked up at him, "That's not good, is it?"

He swallowed hard, no it wasn't, it _really_ wasn't.

But he forced a smile, wanting desperately to make her feel better, "Oh, I don't know, it could be."

"How?"

He just took off his suit jacket and made is way to the tub.

"What are YOU doing?" she asked, tilting her head to rest it on her knees as she watched him try to tug his shoes off, hopping around a bit in the process.

"Joining you," he told her, slipping into the tub with her, wincing at the slight burn of the water, before wading over to her, sitting down and moving her so that she was before him, sitting in front of him, his arms around her, holding her close, "See?" he smiled a bit as she wiggled to get comfortable, "This is good isn't it?"

"Still cold though," she murmured.

"Well then," he wrapped his arms around her more, "I get to warm you up!" he whispered in her ear as he kissed her temple, "And now we get to spend a moment like this."

"Soaking wet, in sopping clothes, in a bathtub?" she asked, shaking her head, not in a mean or bitter way but just truly not understanding what he was talking about.

"Together," he squeezed her, "I get to hold you in my arms and cuddle with you. Doesn't matter where, in front of a fireplace, at a picnic, in a bathtub, as long as you're in my arms Nella, anywhere will do."

She managed a small smile at that, "Well look at that," she turned her head to kiss his cheek, "I feel warmer."

"Good," he smiled, tilting her head to kiss her on the lips, "Me too," he added, tapping her nose, before letting her rest her head on his shoulder, squeezing her once more as he rested his chin on her head, his expression falling, thankful she couldn't see the tears forming in his eyes...

She was still shivering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohh... :( So sad :( I can say that we'll be getting the garden scene in the next episode and...the promised sleepover scene with Donna and Angel very soon :) Though I won't say if they'll be emotional or just a fun time }:)
> 
> And now...you all know what's going to happen next don't you? River Song and the Library...finally right?! I've been keeping uber-tight lipped about her and now we finally get to her! Woo! :)


	30. Silence in the Library: The Shadows

"Close your eyes and tell me what you see," an older black man with glasses said to a young girl with brown hair, dressed in purple, as she did just that.

"The Library," the girl replied as she envisioned herself floating over what seemed out be a planet's worth of books, it was wonderful, so bright and warm and full of such magnificent books! She loved books, she could spend her life reading and reading and reading and be happy.

"Open your eyes again," he said. The girl opened her eyes and looked around at the flat she was sitting in, her father beside the man across from her, "Where are you now?"

"My living room, Dr. Moon."

"When you close your eyes..."

"I go to the Library."

"Go to the Library now," she closed her eyes and found herself standing in a huge circular room in the Library, with several doors around and walls covered with bookshelves. In the middle of the room where she was standing, there was an open dome letting in sunlight stream in directly onto her, "Are you back there?"

"Yes."

"The same part?"

"No, it's always different. The Library goes on forever."

"How do you move around?"

"By wishing."

Suddenly one of the large wooden doors began to shake, she gasped, startled, it sounded like someone was trying to break it down! But how? There wasn't anyone in the Library, there couldn't be! It wasn't safe!

"What's wrong?"

"Something's here! Someone's got in! No one's supposed to get in!"

"She's never mentioned anyone else," her father mumbled, "She's always been alone."

"Someone's in my Library!" she shouted as the doors shook more, "No, no, please, that's not allowed! It's not allowed!"

"Listen to me," Dr. Moon called, "The Library is in your mind."

"I know it's in my mind, but something's got inside!" she watched in horror as the door opened, the Doctor, Donna, and Angel running through, panting for breath. The Doctor grabbed a thick book and wedged it in the handle of the doors to prevent whatever was on the other side from following them while Angel leaned against the door trying to catch her breath.

"Oh!" the Doctor called, noticing the girl, "Hello!" he put an arm around Angel's waist as she calmed and they walked over to her with Donna, "Sorry to burst in on you like this. Ok if we stop here for a bit?"

The girl opened her eyes with a gasp.

~8~

 _One hour earlier_...

The Doctor sat on a small bench, Angel beside him, a large tree behind them. It was like a small bit of the outside wedged inside the TARDIS. A room that looked like they were sitting behind a house with a TARDIS blue door. There was green grass beneath their feet, a blue sky over their heads with little white clouds drifting past, there was even a breeze! Just before them was a little patch of brown dirt, well quite a bit of brown dirt really, lining the yard they had found themselves in. It looked odd, the green grass ending and the brown dirt starting, but those patches of brown were filled with little seeds, flowers of all sorts from all over the Universe.

Angel had rather fallen in love with Lady Eddison's garden a few trips back and had asked if it might be alright to have the TARDIS make a small garden for them. Well, for HIM. He'd been a bit confused as to why she thought he needed a garden and she'd just laughed and pulled a trowel out of his pocket...why it was in there, he didn't know. She'd said the best sort of men carried a trowel and that it would be useful for gardening. He'd said why didn't _she_ just garden then, keep the trowel. She had gotten quiet then and he knew now why.

 _She_ would start it.

But _he_ would keep it.

She had taken time to relax, scattering a mix of the seeds all around the brown patches, not exerting herself, just...at her leisure, covered them with more dirt and sprinkled them with water. She'd told him that she wanted him to make sure the garden was well looked after if she didn't regenerate.

"I still don't understand," he murmured, squeezing her around the middle.

He really didn't. It was a garden, it was flowers, why had she started it if she knew she likely wouldn't get the chance to really tend to it? Why did she expect HIM to still be there to do it too?

"You're the Oncoming Storm," she shrugged, as though it explained everything.

He laughed at that, "Yes, I am, and what's that got to do with a garden? _You're_ the Life Bringer."

She looked up at him, "Storms mean rain, rain means water, and water..." she gestured at the brown patches, little green seedlings already starting to sprout up, "Means watering the flowers so they'll grow."

He was silent, "Nope, still not getting it."

"For someone so clever, you can be quite slow at times," Angel remarked with a little smile, a bit pleased she knew what she was talking about but he didn't.

"Well it's quite hard to concentrate on anything when you're near Angel," he murmured, kissing her lightly.

She sighed, content, and gestured around, "These flowers, _I_ planted them. They're starting to grow because of me. They'll _keep_ growing, year after year, if they're looked after," she turned back to him, "If you look after them, like you do me, then...I'll never truly be gone will I?" she asked the last part quietly, knowing how upset he could get when the subject was brought up, "I'll always be here, in the flowers."

He blinked, feeling a tear come to his eye at that, she'd made the garden as a way to try and keep him going after she ( _possibly_ , because he refused to think she _would_ ) passed. He was almost touched that she was thinking of trying to give him comfort after the fact, in the garden, but...he didn't have the hearts to tell her that her plan wouldn't really work if he wasn't there to tend the garden.

Flowers or his Mate?

The choice was obvious to him, instant.

Angel every time.

He couldn't be there to tend the flowers if he was with _her_.

"It's symbolic too, you know," she continued, thankfully not able to see his thoughts.

That hurt a bit too, that she didn't. Because she was hiding her own thoughts, not much of them, just...everything that dealt with her body's failing health. But to do that, to keep those thoughts from reaching him, she had to partially block her thoughts, which meant she wasn't as open to getting his thoughts as well. She could, if he talked to her, but most of the time, his lingering or passing thoughts didn't reach her.

"How so?" he asked, looking back at the seedlings.

"The seeds are stuck in the dirt," she answered, "In the dark and cold, and they're alone...but the sun, the light and the water, help them grow stronger, and when they blossom, they're in the light, with friends around them. Don't you see?" she looked at him, "In even the darkest times, there's still light and hope," she squeezed his hands, "There's good in the bad, there always is."

He couldn't bring himself to ask her what the good was in her dying, because it would come out bitter and biting and he did NOT want to snap at her. She hadn't been able to sleep much lately, either going to sleep or staying asleep and she was tired, snapping wouldn't be fair to her to deal with too. And, he knew...well, he could guess really...what her 'good' was about the situation. To her, the fact that they hadn't finished the Mating process was good, because HE wouldn't die when she did, not that he considered that a good thing. And...he could still feel it at times, even more so now that she was just...fading away...that she _still_ couldn't fully believe he loved her as much as he did, thinking that he could do better (as absolutely ridiculous as that was) and now, if she died, he'd be free to find someone more 'worthy' of him. When, really, it was quite the opposite, HE wasn't worthy of HER, not after all he'd done.

"The rain..." Angel continued, pulling him out of his thoughts, "It can cause floods and knock out power and make people sad or want to cry but...rain also makes the flowers grow," she whispered, shivering a bit despite being back in her thick white sweater.

He took that, that shiver, as a great way to change the topic, "How about that trip to Space Florida?" he asked, they still hadn't managed a go of it yet.

Though, this time, he felt the TARDIS might just let them get there. He wasn't going for the sake of seeing Angel in a swimsuit, but because the beach would be warm, and soothing, and relaxing, just what she needed.

~8~

"Books!" the Doctor cheered as he and Angel landed the TARDIS, not exactly Space Florida, actually quite a different location than that, a library, THE Library really, the largest one ever built, "People never really stop loving books," he picked up his coat and put it on, Angel waiting by the door for him and Donna. He grinned at her as they stepped out with Donna to see themselves in a huge, empty reception area, "51st century. By now you've got holovids, direct to brain downloads, fiction mist, but you need the smell. The smell of books, Donna. Deep breath," he inhaled deeply, taking Angel's hand as they crossed the room and headed through a door, walking down a staircase to see the surface of the planet, a huge city filled with book shelves, "The Library. So big it doesn't need a name. Just a great big 'the.'"

"It's like a city," Donna remarked.

"It's a _world_ , isn't it?" Angel corrected lightly, her voice just a tiny bit hoarse, looking to the Doctor for confirmation.

"Literally, a world," he nodded, squeezing her hand, "The whole core of the planet is the index computer, biggest hard drive ever. And up here, every book ever written. Whole continents of Jeffrey Archer, Bridget Jones, Monty Python's Big Red Book. Brand new editions, specially printed. We're near the equator, so..." he licked his finger and lifted it up to feel the wind, making Angel laugh, "This must be biographies! I love biographies!"

"Yeah, very you," Donna rolled her eyes, "Always a death at the end."

And then she froze, stiffening as she realized what she'd said and who she'd said it in front of. She quickly looked at Angel who only smiled at her, small though it was, "You need a good death," Angel said quietly, despite hating death, she knew it was a natural part of life, and she knew, it was...necessary, "Without death, we'd never appreciate life," she murmured, "Dying makes us cherish everything."

The Doctor's smile, though, was gone.

Donna looked down, feeling like her words had been what made him sad again. She looked over at a book off to the side and picked it up but the Doctor grabbed it from her, "Oi! Spoilers!"

"What?" Donna stared.

"These books are from your future. You don't wanna read ahead, spoil all the surprises. Like peeking at the end."

"Isn't travelling with you one big spoiler?"

"I...try to keep you away from major plot developments."

"You're very bad at it," Angel told him lightly, patting his arm.

The Doctor looked around, realizing something, "This is the biggest Library in the Universe...so where is everyone?"

Angel frowned and looked around as well, "It's quiet."

The Doctor moved over to an information terminal and started fiddling on it with the sonic.

"The Library?" Donna frowned.

"The planet. The whole planet."

Silence, dead silence like this, was never good.

"Maybe it's a Sunday."

"The Doctor doesn't land on Sundays," she laughed, "He thinks they're boring."

"Well they are!" he defended, "I mean, really, name _one_ interesting thing that's ever happened on a Sunday."

"My birthday."

He blinked and kissed the back of her cold hand, "I said _interesting_ , not monumentally life changing and absolutely fantastic."

' _It really wasn't that big a deal,_ ' she told him silently, opening her mind a bit more to him.

' _Maybe not to YOU,_ ' he countered, ' _But you're my Mate. It means everything to me,_ ' he winked at her, _'They should make it a Universal holiday! Everyone in all the galaxies should celebrate it!_ '

Angel blushed, he always had the uncanny ability to make her feel important didn't he? But...well...her birthday was quite a while away, quite a few months...and, there was a very real chance, that she wouldn't live to see her next one. She quickly shook her head, bringing up just a faint mental wall to keep that thought from hitting the Doctor. He was so happy right then, thinking about her, she couldn't bear to remind him of that fact.

Donna couldn't help but smile at them, "Maybe everyone's really, really quiet."

"Maybe…but they'd still show up on the system."

"Doctor, why are we here? Really, why?"

"Oh, you know, just passing…"

"No, seriously. It was all, 'let's hit the beach,' spend a day relaxing in the sun, then suddenly we're in a Library. Why?"

"Now, that's interesting…" the Doctor murmured, looking at the screen, not wanting to answer. There were two reasons why he'd picked the Library. One, a message that had hit the psychic paper, someone needed help. And two, (which really should be number one though), all sorts of things could happen on or at the beach. Angel could get sunburned, or carried off by the waves, or other men could try to steal her, or, with his luck, there would be some sort of alien jellyfish infecting people and trying to kill all...

A library was really much more safe. Not much harm a book could do.

"What?" Angel asked, stepping over to him to look at the scan.

"Scanning for life forms. If I do a scan looking for your basic humanoids, you know, your book readers, few limbs and a face," he gestured to the monitor which read 'filtered humanoid life form scan: 3,' "Apart from us, I get nothing. Zippo, nada, see? Nobody home. But if I widen the parameters to any kind of life..." he pushed some keys and the number sprang up until an error popped up at 1,000,000,000,000, the maximum record.

"A trillion."

"A million million. Gives up after that. A million million."

"But there's nothing here," Donna looked around, "There's no one."

"And not a sound. A million million life forms, and silence in the Library."

"But there's no one here. There's just books. I mean, it's not the books, is it? I mean, it can't be the books, can it? I mean, books can't be alive?"

They all looked at each other before cautiously reaching towards a book on the ledge, almost touching it...when a voice shouted behind them, "Welcome!"

They all jumped at that, even Angel.

"That came from in there," Donna looked back the way they came.

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded as they hurried back inside reception. There was a white, lumpy statue standing there with a pole through it and another small white lump on top of it, it swiveled to face them revealing a black, female face.

"I am Courtesy Node 710/aqua," it stated, "Please enjoy the Library and respect the personal access codes of all your fellow readers regardless of species or hygiene taboo."

"That face...it looks real," Donna whispered.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," the Doctor shrugged.

"But a statue with a real face, though! It's a hologram or something, isn't it?"

"No, but really, it's...fine."

"Additional," the Node added, "There follows a brief message from the head librarian for your urgent attention. It has been edited for tone and content by Felman Lux Automated Decency Filter. Message follows. 'Run. For God's sake, run. No way is safe. The Library has sealed itself, we can't...oh, they're here. Arg. Slarg. Snick.' Message ends. Please switch off your mobile comm. units for the comfort of other readers."

"So _that's_ why we're here..." the Doctor muttered.

"Is there any other message from the same day?" Angel looked at it.

"One additional message," it stated, "This message carries a Felman Lux coherency warning of 5, 0, 11..."

"Yeah, yeah, fine, fine, fine, just play it," the Doctor huffed.

"Message follows. 'Count the shadows. For God's sake, remember...if you want to live, count the shadows.' Message ends."

"Donna..." the Doctor began as he pulled Angel a bit closer to him, there were quite a few species who existed in the shadows, his mind going right to the Elemental Shade they'd fought with Rose.

"Yeah?" she looked at him.

"Stay out of the shadows."

"Why, what's in the shadows?" Donna looked down.

The Doctor didn't answer, just turned and walked through another door into an aisle between bookshelves several floors high and reaching as far as the eye could see.

"So...we _weren't_ 'just in the neighborhood...'"

"Yeah, we kind of, sort of lied a bit."

"Apparently he got a message on the psychic paper," Angel said, rubbing her head as she held up the psychic paper and looked at it, "I can't see it though."

Donna took the paper from her to see 'The Library. Come as soon as you can. X.'

"What do you think?" the Doctor asked, "Cry for help?"

"Cry for help, with a kiss?" Donna scoffed.

"There's a kiss on it?" Angel looked at the Doctor, startled that he hadn't told her THAT part of it.

"Is _that_ what it is?" he took the paper back, frowning at it, "I thought x was a hug."

Donna rolled her eyes at him, it was just like him to get those mixed up, "Who's it from?"

"No idea."

"I think we should go," Angel murmured, looking around.

It wasn't a feeling per say, but more of a natural instinct…things around the Doctor never stayed calm or safe for long and...she wasn't at the top of her game at the moment. It would kill her if anything happened to the Doctor or Donna that she could have prevented had she been well.

"So why did we come here, why did you..." Donna began, growing a bit angry at him. They should be on the beach, safe and sound, instead of in a dark, empty library with some sort of danger lurking...and someone sending him 'kisses' via psychic paper...with _Angel_ right there!

"Donna!" the Doctor shouted as the lights on the far end of the corridor behind them started to go out, the darkness seeming like it was moving towards them.

"What's happening?"

"Run!" the Doctor cried, hating to do it, knowing how easily winded Angel got recently, but it had to be done...he grabbed her hand, racing off down the corridor till they came to a door. He tried it but it wouldn't budge, "Come on!"

"What, is it locked?"

"Jammed!" he shoved it, "The wood's warped!"

"Sonic it, use the thingy!"

"He can't," Angel said as she glanced back at the approaching shadows, panting, "It's wood."

"What, it doesn't do _wood_?!"

"Hang on, hang on," he pulled the sonic out, "If I can vibrate the molecules, fry the bindings, I can shatterline the interface..."

"Just kick it down!" Angel shouted.

"Oh, get out of the way!" Donna shoved him aside and did just that. They dashed into the room, slamming the door behind them. The Doctor grabbed a book and wedged it between the handles to hold it shut.

He looked at Angel to see her taking a few deep breaths, trying to calm her hearts and breathe, when something caught his eye, "Oh! Hello! Sorry to burst on you like this. Ok if we stop here for a bit?"

A sphere with a camera lens in it that had been floating before them, looking at them, fell to the ground.

"What is it?" Donna looked at it.

"A security camera?" Angel guessed as the Doctor picked it up.

"Switched itself off," the Doctor mumbled, starting to examine it.

~8~

"They were in my Library," the girl looked at Dr. Moon, "How can they be in my Library?"

"Who were they?"

The girl suddenly put her hands to her ears in pain as the sonic noise echoed in her mind, "What's that? What's that noise?"

"What noise?" her father asked.

~8~

The Doctor held the camera to him, sonicing it, as Angel stood beside him, "Nice door skills, Donna," he remarked.

"Yeah, well, you know, boyfriends...sometimes you need the element of surprise," Donna smirked, "What was that, what was after us? I mean, did we just run away from a power cut?"

"Possibly."

"Are we safe here?"

"Course we're safe. There's a little shop," he gestured back to where there was sign on the wall pointing towards the shop, "Gotcha!" the lens popped open.

~8~

The girl fell to the ground, grabbing her head, "No, stop it, no, no!"

~8~

"Doctor stop it," Angel whispered, pointing to the words appearing on a screen, 'no, stop it, no, no,' "You're hurting her."

"I'm sorry!" the Doctor's apologized quickly, "I really am, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he began to put the sphere down, before thinking better of it and handing it to Angel to hold, knowing he always felt better when she was holding his hand, perhaps she could help the sphere too.

"It's alive," Angel frowned at it, gently stroking it, just...trying to be a comfort.

"You said it was a security camera," Donna frowned.

"It is," the Doctor nodded, smiling a bit when he saw the words fade, the sphere clearly feeling better, "It's an alive one."

~8~

The girl laid on the floor, quiet, as her father and Dr. Moon comforted her, "Can you hear me?" Dr. Moon asked, "Are you alright?"

"Others are coming," she said, her voice monotoned.

"Who's coming? Who are the others?"

"The Library is breached. Others are coming."

"What others?"

~8~

Angel and Donna frowned as the words 'Others are coming' appeared on the sphere over and over, "Others?" Donna asked, "What's it mean, 'others?'" the Doctor could only shake his head, equally confused, as Donna turned to another Node it the room, "Excuse me, what does it mean, 'others?'"

"That's barely more than a speak your weight machine, it can't help you," the Doctor told her.

"So why's it got a face?" she countered as the Node spun around to reveal an older male face.

"This flesh aspect was donated by Mark Chambers on the occasion of his death," the Node reported.

"It's a _real_ _face_?!"

"It has been actualized individually for you from the many facial aspects saved to our extensive flesh banks. Please enjoy."

"It chose me a dead face it thought I'd _like_?! That statue's got a real, dead person's _face_ on it..."

"It's the 51st century," Angel shrugged, she'd learned A LOT about that particular century from Jack. Quite a lot was accepted in that century.

"That's...basically like donating a park bench," the Doctor nodded as they walked over to her.

"It's donating a _face_!" Donna backed away in horror.

"No, wait!" Angel reached out and pulled Donna back, stopping her from stepping on a dark shadow behind her.

"The shadow, look," the Doctor pointed as Donna stepped away and looked down.

"What about it?" Donna asked.

"'Count the shadows,'" Angel murmured.

"One. There, I counted it, one shadow."

"Yeah...but what's casting it?" the Doctor looked around but couldn't find anything that could be making it, "Oh! I'm thick! Look at me, I'm old and thick! Head's too full of stuff, I need a bigger head!"

"I like your head just the way it is thanks," Angel said, pulling his head down and dropping a kiss on it.

He smiled at her softly before leading them over to the edge of the light, peering down the corridor where there was a lamp blinking on and off.

"Power must be going," Donna shrugged.

"This place runs on fission cells," the Doctor shook his head, "They'll out burn the sun."

"Then why is it dark?"

"It's not dark."

Donna turned around and gasped, "That shadow. It's gone!"

The Doctor spun around, alarmed, to see the shadow _had_ moved, "We need to get back to the TARDIS."

"Why?"

"Because the shadow...it didn't just disappear did it?" Angel realized as well, "It _moved_."

She was starting to get a sinking feeling in her gut now, Elemental Shades, she knew the Doctor was thinking it might be them but...she could just tell it was much worse. There were so many creatures that operated in the darkness...and that made her uncomfortable. She hated the dark, you couldn't see anything, you couldn't tell what was there, waiting in it...there was just...no light.

"Reminder: the Library has been breached, others are coming," the Node stated, "Reminder: the Library has been breached, others are coming. Reminder: the Library has been breached..."

A door opened on the other side of the room and six white spacesuits entered. Their leader walked straight over to the Doctor, not even seeming to notice the two ginger women standing to the side, and switched the visor to transparent to reveal a female face with light brown, curly hair. She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling, "Hello sweetie…"

Angel's eyes widened at that, unsure of what to make of it. That was a pet name, wasn't it? Calling people sweetie? It was the sort of thing friends could do, she knew that, the sort of thing an adult would do to comfort a child as well. But this...the way that woman had said it. There was something more to it, not just...fondness...but...she felt her stomach twist painfully as she thought on what that other hint had been in the woman's voice. She really _didn't_ want to know because, if she did...she just knew her hearts would break.

The Doctor, however, seemed to know _just_ what to do, "Get out!" he yelled at them, not even perturbed by the pet name, not caring. In his mind, it meant nothing, literally _nothing_. It hadn't even registered what she'd said really, since she wasn't Angel he didn't even notice. He didn't get that shiver he always felt when Angel called him 'her thief' nor did he feel his hearts speed up at it, he didn't get that warm feeling surging through him at the woman's words.

Vaguely, he wondered who that sweetie person was, one of the crew? She couldn't have been talking to him.

She wasn't Angel.

Only Angel could call him by a pet name.

Well, that and Donna calling him spaceman, but that was more a joke between friends, like how she called Angel 'supergirl,' that was entirely different.

Sweetie, it wasn't HIM.

HE was thief.

Angel's thief.

Like she was his psychic.

"Doctor…" Donna began as she took Angel's hand, seeing her sister starting to get upset by that woman's words, the tone behind it, the implication in it. It was also quite rude, she thought, for the woman to greet the Doctor and not them.

"All of you, turn around, get back in your rocket and fly away! Tell your grandchildren you came to the Library and lived, they won't believe you."

"Pop your helmets, everyone," the woman ordered, "We've got breathers."

"How do you know they're not androids?" a woman with short black hair asked as they did as commanded.

"'Cos I've dated androids. They're rubbish."

"Who is this?" an older man with gray hair frowned, eyeing the trio, "You said we were the only expedition, I paid for exclusives."

"I lied, I'm always lying. Bound to be others."

"Miss Evangelista," he turned to a young woman with long black hair in a side ponytail, "I want to see the contracts."

"You came through the north door, yeah?" the woman turned back to the Doctor, "How was that, much damage?"

"Please, just leave," the Doctor said, "I'm asking you seriously and properly, just lea...hang on. Did you say expedition?"

"Doctor…" Angel called, "Focus."

"My expedition, I funded it," the older man nodded.

"Oh, you're not, are you?" the Doctor grumbled, "Tell me you're not archaeologists."

"Got a problem with archaeologists?" the woman smirked.

"I'm a _time traveler_. I point and laugh at archaeologists."

"Ah," she held out her hand, "Professor River Song, archaeologist."

"River Song, right. As you're leaving, and you're leaving now...you need to set up a quarantine beacon. Code-wall the planet, the whole planet. Nobody comes here, not ever again...not one living thing, not here, not ever," he looked back to see one of the crew, the short haired woman, walking towards the shadows, "Stop right there! What's your name?"

"Anita," she replied.

"Anita, stay out of the shadows. Not a foot, not a finger, in the shadows till you're safely back in your ship. Goes for all of you. Stay in the light. Find a nice, bright spot and just stand. If you understand me, look very, _very_ scared," they just looked at him blank, River smiling, "No, bit more scared than that," Evangelista looked somewhat afraid, "Ok, do for now," he turned to one of the men, "You, who are you?"

"Uh, Dave," he spoke.

"Ok, Dave..."

"Oh, well _Other_ Dave. Because that's Proper Dave the pilot, he was the first Dave, so when we..."

The Doctor just grabbed Other Dave and led him to the door they came through. Donna and Angel exchanged a look, watching him, neither noticing River eyeing them appraisingly with a small frown on her face as she looked between them.

"Other Dave, the way you came, does it look the same as before?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah. Oh, it's a bit darker."

"How much darker?"

"Oh, like I could see where we came through just like a moment ago. I can't now."

The Doctor closed his eyes a moment, that was very, _very_ not good, "Seal up this door. We'll find another way out," he turned and walked back to the group, stepping beside Angel and taking her hand in his a moment.

Neither saw River's eyes widen before narrowing to a glare.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I threw a little 'Les Mis' cameo in this chapter, anyone spot it? :)
> 
> And now we've got River! Not much of her here, I know, since she came in late, but...I hope the small amount of her that is in this chapter, how things are playing out so far, has made you worried about Angel :) Especially...that last line }:) What?!
> 
> All I can say is that this will be...a very twisty 2-parter, there will be moments where you'll think one thing but more pops up later that just...hopefully...makes you even more worried ;)


	31. Silence in the Library: The Dark

"We're not looking for a way out," the older man snapped, huffing as he crossed his arms. He took a breath, though it didn't look like it helped as he turned to the young, pretty woman, "Miss Evangelista?"

Evangelista stepped towards them with papers in her hand, "I'm Mr. Lux's personal...everything," she began, sounding as though she were trying hard to remember what she was supposed to say, "You need to sign these contracts agreeing that your individual experience inside the Library are the intellectual property of the Felman Lux Corporation," she smiled widely at having been able to recite all that.

"Right, give it here," the Doctor held out a hand, taking one.

"Yeah, lovely," Donna nodded.

"Thank you," Angel smiled at her, before they all tore the contract in half, Angel just half a second behind the Doctor and Donna as she was just going to fold it up and put it in her pocket till they'd torn theirs.

"My family _built_ this Library!" the man cried, offended by their actions, "I have _rights_."

"You have a mouth that won't stop," River muttered, before turning to the Doctor, smiling, "Just like your gob sweetie."

The Doctor blinked at that, before he beamed and turned to Angel, "YOU said that!"

"What?" Angel shook her head, confused.

Donna smiled at that, she loved how the Doctor could do that, be in the middle of something but then shift his attention so completely to Angel, it was sweet. But...then she noticed that River woman didn't seem to think it was quite so sweet given by how her expression had soured a bit. Clearly she hadn't been finished talking when the Doctor had rounded on Angel. She eyed the woman carefully, not sure why she seemed so putout by the Doctor speaking to Angel now, he'd done it loads of times to her, been in the middle of a conversation but when something reminded him of Angel, which, to be honest, was quite a lot...they'd been talking in the kitchen ages ago, her munching on an apple and the man had started to ramble in the middle of the conversation about how the apple was the exact dark red shade of Angel's hair and then listing other red things that were close but not quite right. She'd left him in the kitchen to go find Angel, walked back in with the girl to see he was STILL going, having not even noticed she'd left his thoughts had gotten that far away from him. It wasn't till Angel had given him a peck and ran her hand through his hair commenting on how it reminded _her_ of milk chocolate that he'd even realized he'd been rambling. THAT, of course, had only led him to comment on Angel's eyes resembling hot chocolate with gold sprinkles and then they were off on a compliment race to see who could compliment the other more.

It was endlessly sweet and she had been so overjoyed to see Angel that happy as Angel always went out of her way to cheer HER up when she was sad. That had been before they'd found out what was happening to her though which made remembering the moment that much more bittersweet to think that Angel really needed that happiness.

She shook her head, now HER thoughts were getting away from her. Getting back to that River woman...she didn't understand why she seemed so putout, the Doctor did this ALL the time when Angel was around...

And then she froze, her heart stopping as her mind shut down at the thought that, if River wasn't used to this, then maybe...no. No, she was wrong. Her thoughts were wrong. The Doctor WOULD still do that in the future, because Angel WOULD be there.

She had to be.

"You remember," the Doctor moved to Angel's side, taking her hands in his, squeezing them lightly, "The school with the Krillitanes, you worked in the library!"

She blinked, recalling that as well, her eyes widening, "I said..."

"You'd take my gob over silence in a library any day!" he beamed, "Oh that is just _brilliant_!"

To think, her sensations were THAT strong THAT long ago...and they hadn't even realized it! It could be just a coincidence that Angel had said that, given she'd been acting as the librarian at the time, but...it was too exact to this situation. That was incredible. If her abilities had been picking up THIS all the way back then, he couldn't imagine what she might...

His thoughts cut off again as he swallowed hard. Her sensations were already fading. He shouldn't have brought it up, he shouldn't have reminded her of a time when her sensations and feelings were that strong...

Angel squeezed his hands, not even needing to read his mind to know where his thoughts had gone, she could see it in how his expression had started to fall, his smile started to fade from his face, "What do you know," she squeezed his hands, making him look at her, "I still would," she smiled, "I love your voice."

His smile was back, "I love your..."

"Is there a danger here?" River cut in, her arms crossed as she watched them, clearly bothered by how they were acting.

"Something came to this Library and killed everything in it, killed a whole world," the Doctor rolled his eyes, a bit irritated his moment had been put to a stop, "Danger? Could be."

"That was 100 years ago. The Library's been silent for 100 years. Whatever came here is long dead."

"Bet your life?"

River smirked, "Always."

"River Song right?" Angel asked, stepping forward, cautious.

"Yes," River turned to her, her face suddenly blank.

Angel blinked, a bit shocked at her sudden shift in demeanor, but smiled nonetheless, "I'm the Angel," she greeted, "It's nice to m…" River turned on her heel as soon as Angel's name had come out of her mouth and walked off, as though she didn't want to know who she was, as though she didn't care what her name was, "Meet you…" Angel frowned and looked at the Doctor, concerned, "Did I do something wrong?"

He could only shake his head, having no idea why the woman who had been so pleasant to him was being so rude to Angel when all the girl was trying to do was be polite and introduce herself...

He froze.

 _Why_ did she have to introduce herself? Did she even have to? River clearly knew HIM so...if she was from the future as he thought she might be...did she know Angel too? Was she there or...or was this like what Mickey had once said, the past meets the present? Or, in this case, the future meets the past. Did River somehow know him in the future and was irritated with the Angel of the past? Did she even _know_ Angel? Did she even know Angel was a Time Lady or who she was to HIM? And if she didn't...what did that mean for his future? Did that mean River was...

No! He shook his head fiercely at that, no! River was NOT his future, not at all, not ever. Angel was his past, his present, and she would _always_ be his future.

Her.

Only her.

No one else.

Ever.

...but then...why was River being so... _cold_ to her?

"What are you doing?" Lux called, they looked over to see him talking to Other Dave.

"He said seal the door," Other Dave shook his head, in the middle of doing just that with a small welder.

"Torch!" the Doctor called, grabbing the one in Lux's hand.

"You're taking orders from _him_?" Lux continued to ask Other Dave.

"Spooky, isn't it?" the Doctor grinned before walking to the other side of the room and looking around, flashing the torch in the dark corners while Donna made her way to Angel, a small frown on her face as she saw the small altercation between her and River, Angel looked a bit upset, "Almost every species in the Universe has an irrational fear of the dark. But they're wrong. 'Cos it's not irrational. It's Vashta Nerada."

"Oh _great_ ," Angel moaned a bit, falling back to lean on a desk behind her, " _Just_ what I need, Vashta Nerada and no sleep," she rubbed her head.

"What's Vashta Nerada?" Donna asked, rubbing Angel's back comfortingly, both she and the Doctor were aware that Angel had been having trouble sleeping lately, whether it was falling asleep or staying asleep, she just wasn't getting enough of it. There were already faint bags appearing under her eyes as a result, anyone who really looked at her could tell she was unwell.

Which irritated Donna because that River woman was being really rude and Angel didn't deserve that. She shouldn't have to put up with that while being ill and tired. It made her wonder if River could even tell that Angel as ill...or if she was just being rude and didn't care. Well, she'd be having some words with her if the woman continued her treatment of Angel.

"It's what's in the dark," Angel swallowed hard, she'd had more than one nightmare about Vashta Nerada when she'd been a child, she really had hated the dark so much that her mother had made a little nightlight for her, well, more like a night sky. She had set up her room with a series of stars on her ceiling that glowed faintly in the dark, casting a warm light on her as she slept. It had been beautiful and kept the nightmares at bay, "It's what's _always_ in the dark."

The Doctor walked back to the group, stopping by Angel to drop a kiss on the top of her head. She smiled up at him, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear as he took her hand when she lowered it, kissing the back of it and squeezing it reassuringly.

' _I won't let anything happen to you Nella,_ ' he swore. He may have failed quite a few times in protecting her in the past, but he wouldn't now. Not now. He was going to keep her with him as long as he possibly could, the Vashta Nerada were NOT going to get his Mate.

' _I know,_ ' she smiled at him, her belief and trust in him shining through her eyes.

He nodded, so touched she had that much faith in him, before turning to the humans, determined to get some sort of safe area set up, "Lights! That's what we need, lights. You got lights?"

"What for?" River asked tensely, pulling her gaze away from Angel to look at the Doctor, trying to hide how displeased she was with their display of affection.

If the Doctor noticed he didn't say anything, instead replying, "Form a circle, safe area, big as you can, lights pointing out."

"Oi!" River nodded at the crew, "Do as he says."

"You're not listening to this man?!" Lux turned to River.

"Apparently, I am. Anita, unpack the lights. Other Dave, make sure the door's secure, then help Anita. Mr. Lux, put your helmet back on, block the visor. Proper Dave, find an active terminal. I want you to access the Library database, see what you can find about what happened here a hundred years ago," she smirked and glanced at the Doctor, "Pretty Boy, you're with _me_. Step into my office," she turned and walked over to a desk with an information terminal.

"Professor Song, why am I the only one wearing my helmet?"

"I don't fancy you," River laughed back over her shoulder, "Or gingers really."

Donna let out an offended noise at that, about to go give that River Song a piece of her mind at the slight against her hair color, when Angel reached out and took her hand, "Don't."

"But she just..." Donna began.

"She doesn't like _me_ ," Angel told Donna quietly so the Doctor wouldn't hear. She wasn't sure if it was a feeling or not, she'd gotten so few of them recently, but...she could tell, deep in her soul...River Song did NOT like her, "It has nothing to do with you, or being ginger," she whispered.

Donna frowned and looked back and forth between River and Angel, she'd sensed it as well, not really sensed it like Angel sensed things, but she was good at reading people when they acted out. River truly had an issue with Angel for some reason and it seemed to have something to do with how close Angel and the Doctor were, but they were Mates, they were supposed to be close. That comment, it had been more directed at Angel than her, she and Angel were the only gingers in there. The girl couldn't say women, because that would offend her crew, she couldn't say someone wearing white, because she was too, she couldn't say time travelers because that would include the Doctor, she couldn't say a lot of things that would single Angel out, except her hair color even if it was Donna's as well.

"Why doesn't she like you?" Donna shook her head, it made no sense.

It made about as much sense as the Doctor's technobabble...and she _swore_ he just made up words half the time.

She really couldn't imagine anyone NOT liking Angel, she was just...so sweet and nice and she always put others first and tried to make them feel better as much as she could. And she was fairly certain they had never met this River Song person before so what could that woman possibly have against Angel?

"I dunno," Angel sighed, glancing at the Doctor to make sure he hadn't heard her, he didn't react very well to people who didn't like her, not that they had much experience with that, people usually seemed to like her, but he didn't like people trying to hurt her or attack her or kill her like enemies did and she didn't want to make River out to be an enemy when they didn't know anything about her. The Doctor could be quite overreactive at times and rude and she knew they'd probably need to work together to get out of this mess.

Thankfully, the Doctor hadn't seemed to hear her as he was standing by Proper Dave, "Probably I can help you."

"Pretty Boy, with _me_ I said!" River called from across the room.

"Oh, _I'm_ Pretty Boy?" the Doctor asked, shocked as he looked at the gingers.

Angel couldn't help but smile at his obliviousness despite her ill ease with River's nicknames for him. She'd found it amusing when Donna called him dumbo, and Martian, and spaceman, but this...THESE nicknames didn't sit right with her.

"Yes," Angel said instantly.

Donna laughed, nudging her, "That came out a bit quick."

"It's the truth," Angel shrugged.

" _Pretty_?!" the Doctor frowned.

"Handsome then," Angel corrected, "Smashing," before adding, "And a little bit foxy."

He grinned at that, tweaking his tie as he winked at her, before heading over to River, "Don't let your shadows cross!" he called back to the crew, "Seriously, don't even let them touch. Any of them could be infected."

"How can a shadow be infected?" Other Dave frowned.

Donna looked over to see Angel looking at River, her expression having faded as soon as the Doctor had turned his back to concern, and took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly, earning a smile from her sister.

Evangelista walked over to Anita and Other Dave, "Excuse me, can I help?"

"No, we're fine," Anita replied.

"I could just...you know, hold things?"

"No, really, we're ok," Other Dave insisted till Evangelista walked off.

"Couldn't she help?" Donna frowned as she and Angel came over, her tugging Angel along, knowing she'd worry herself even more if she watched River and the Doctor talking, knowing she needed a distraction.

"Trust me. I just spent _four days_ on a ship with that woman. She's..."

"Couldn't tell the difference between the escape pod and the bathroom," Anita supplied, "We had to go back for her. _Twice_."

~8~

River rummaged around in her bag when she pulled out an old, blue, TARDIS-shaped book, "Thanks."

"For what?" the Doctor eyed her.

"The usual. For coming when I call."

"Oh, that was _you_?"

"You're doing a very good job," she said, glancing back at Angel a moment, before eyeing her book, "Acting like you don't know me. I'm assuming there's a reason."

"A fairly good one, actually."

"Ok, shall we do diaries, then? Where are we this time?" she looked at him a moment, "Uh, going by your face, I'd say it's early days for you. Yes? So, um..." she turned some pages in the book, "Crash of the _Byzantium_ , have we done that yet?" he stared at her, blank, "Obviously ringing no bells…" she flipped some more pages, "Right, um, oh. Picnic at Asgard. Have we done Asgard yet?" still no response, "Obviously not. Blimey, _very_ early days, then. Huh, life with a time traveler, never knew it could be such hard work," she looked at him, carefully examining his face, "Look at you!" she breathed, surprised, "You're _young_."

"I'm really not, you know."

"Nah, but you _are_ ," she reached out and put a hand on the side of his face, lightly stroking it, "Your eyes. You're younger than I've ever seen you."

"You've seen me before, then?" he leaned away from her touch more and more till she dropped her hand.

No one, in his mind, but Angel had the right to be _that_ familiar with him.

Donna, who had been watching the woman closely while Angel watched Anita and Other Dave working, smiled happily at the Doctor's actions. Thatta boy Spaceman!

"Doctor..." River looked at him, seeming to be holding her breath at his answer, "Please tell me you know who I am..."

"Who are you?"

They were interrupted by a noise, a strange alarm, "Sorry, that was me!" Proper Dave winced, "Trying to get through into the security protocols, I seem to have set something off. What is that? Is that an alarm?"

"Doctor?" Donna frowned as he ran over, "Doctor, that sounds like..."

"It is," he nodded, "It's a phone!"

~8~

The girl was in the sitting room of her house, when an old fashioned telephone began ringing, the adults ignoring it, "Dad!"

"In a minute," he called.

~8~

"I'm trying to call up the data core, but it's not responding," Proper Dave said, "Just that noise."

"But it's a phone!" Donna repeated.

"Let me try something," the Doctor stepped up to the terminal as Angel stepped beside him, watching him work.

~8~

"Dad!" the girl shouted, "The phone, aren't you gonna answer it?"

"It's not ringing, sweetie," he replied.

The girl got up, confused, and reached out to answer the phone...only for it to stop ringing.

~8~

The terminal's screen now read 'Access denied.'

"Ok," the Doctor muttered, "Doesn't like that, let's try something else."

~8~

The girl sat at a small table drawing pictures of the library when the cartoon behind her blinked off and the Doctor appeared, "Ok, here it comes. Hello?"

The girl turned to see the man with a small group of people around him, two ginger women and a crew in white spacesuits, "Hello. Are you in my television?"

"Well, no, I'm…I'm...sort of in space. I…I was trying to call up the data core of a triple-grid security process..." he trailed off as Angel put a hand on his arm, quieting him instantly, an action which made River purse her lips behind them, not that they could see.

"Hello sweetheart," she smiled at the girl, "I'm Angel, and this is the Doctor," she introduced, "What's your name?"

"Charlotte," she answered after a moment's hesitation.

"That's a beautiful name."

"Thank you," she smiled.

"Are your parents there? Could we talk to them?"

"My dad's here..." Charlotte nodded, about to go get him, when she recalled where she'd seen them before, "I know you!" she suddenly gasped, turning to point at them, "You were in my Library."

" _Your_ Library?" the Doctor frowned.

"The Library's never been on the television before. What have you done?"

"Ah, I...I just rerouted the interface..."

The connection broke and the cartoon continued.

~8~

"What happened," River shook her head, "Who was that?"

'Access Denied' appeared again.

~8~

Charlotte picked up a remote for the telly and started flipping channels, trying to find the Doctor and Angel again.

~8~

The Doctor pushed a few keys but couldn't get through, so he turned and ran across the room to another terminal back by the desk River had set up on, "I need another terminal. Keep working on those lights, we need those lights!"

"You heard him people, let there be light," River called, watching as Angel made her way across to the room to the Doctor's side, placing her hand on his shoulder as he turned to give her a small kiss.

Only Donna saw the small glare on the woman's face as she stormed after them.

Angel smiled at the Doctor, turning to watch him work, when she caught sight of the TARDIS-shaped diary on the desk, "Doctor…" she breathed, eyeing it, her eyes wide.

He looked down at it. River was clearly from the future…and if that was her diary, surely she would have some sort of information in there about Angel, whether she was there or not. But...did he really want to know if she wasn't? Wouldn't it be better to live in hope? He swallowed hard and reached for it...only for River to snatch it away.

"Sorry," River said, "You're not allowed to see inside the book, it's against the rules."

"What rules?" the Doctor asked.

"Your rules."

~8~

Charlotte flipped through the channels before opening a cover at the bottom of the remote to see more buttons. She started pushing those as well and...

~8~

Books started flying off the Library shelves.

"What's that?" the Doctor shouted, automatically pulling Angel closer to shield her from getting hit, "I didn't do that, did you do that?"

"Not me!" Proper Dave called back.

"What's CAL?" Angel asked.

The Doctor turned back to see the same 'Access Denied' message but with _CAL_ at the top.

The books finally stopped flying off the shelves as Donna walked over to Evangelista, who seemed very stressed about everything happening around them, "You're alright?"

"What's that?" Evangelista shook, "What's happening?"

"I don't know," Lux grumbled.

"Oh, thanks for...you know...offering to help with the lights," Donna tried to comfort her.

"They don't want me," she sighed, "They think I'm stupid, 'cos I'm pretty."

"Course they don't, nobody thinks that."

"No, they're right though. I'm a moron, me. My dad said I have the IQ of plankton, and I was pleased."

Donna laughed, "See, that's funny."

"No...no, I...I really _was_ pleased. Is that funny?"

"No, no."

The books started falling again.

"What's causing that?" River shouted, "Is it Charlotte?"

"But who is Charlotte?" the Doctor ducked, "What's she got to do with this place?"

~8~

Charlotte frowned in concentration as she fiddled with the remote.

~8~

"How does the data core work?" the Doctor looked at River, "What's the principle?"

"What's CAL?" Angel added.

"Ask Mr. Lux," River replied coolly.

"CAL, what is it?" the Doctor turned to Lux.

"Sorry," the man smirked, "You didn't sign your personal experience contracts."

"Mr. Lux, right now, you're in more danger than you've ever been in your whole life. And you're protecting a _patent_?"

"I'm protecting my family's _pride_."

"Well, funny thing, Mr. Lux," he glared, "I don't want to see everyone in this room, especially my _Mate_ , dead because some idiot thinks his pride is more important."

"Then why don't you sign his contract?" River asked, before smirking, "I didn't either. I'm getting worse than you," she sighed, "I suppose you've _rubbed_ off on me."

Angel tensed at that, frowning, though the Doctor didn't even seem to notice the implication of River's words, didn't even seem to notice River might be flirting with him as he began pacing, trying to think. Angel blinked, wondering if THIS was how the Doctor felt when other men flirted with her and she didn't realize it.

"Ok, ok, ok," he mumbled, "Let's start at the beginning. What happened here? On the actual day, a hundred years ago, what physically happened?"

~8~

Charlotte pushed another button.

~8~

A panel of the wall slid open just behind Evangelista, who gasped and looked over at it.

"There was a message from the Library," River replied, "Just one. 'The lights are going out.' Then the computer sealed the planet, and there was nothing for a hundred years."

"It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back in," Lux added.

"Um...excuse me..." Evangelista began.

"Not just now."

"There was one other thing in the last message..." River continued.

"That's confidential."

"I trust this man," River said firmly, sounding like she meant it with everything she was, "With my life, with _everything_."

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably at the words. The only person he knew who trusted him _that_ much was Angel, and...he knew...one of the largest reasons she was _able_ to, not counting that she was just naturally that amazing, was because...she was his _Mate_. The connection between two Mates was so complete and encompassing...you laid everything bare to them, everything you were, every joy, every sorrow, every happiness, every darkness, they knew you so completely that the trust that was built...there was nothing stronger.

But...River _wasn't_ his Mate.

 _Angel_ was.

"You've only just _met_ him!" Lux cried.

"No, _he's_ only just met _me_."

"Um," Evangelista attempted, "This might be important actually..."

"In a _moment_!" Lux shouted.

"This is a data extract that came with the message," River turned to the Doctor and Angel, shifting herself so that her back was to Angel and focused on the Doctor.

Angel looked down a bit at the action and stepped back, over to Donna's side, as the woman put an arm around her, glaring daggers at River. Angel already felt insecure about her intelligence as a Time Lady, despite how brilliant she made other people feel, to have that woman basically ignore her and only show the Doctor was like saying she only believed HE was smart enough to help...

THAT had to be the reason because the only other explanation was that River didn't know Angel in the future and that she didn't know just how much the girl could help.

Angel HAD to be there in the future, she had to.

River held up a PDA with the message on it, "'4,022 saved. No survivors,'" the Doctor read.

"4,022, that's the exact number of people who were in the Library when the planet was sealed."

"But how can 4,022 people have been saved if there were no survivors?" Donna called, if only to pull the Doctor's attention away from the PDA and River.

"That's what we're here to find out," River smiled at the woman, making sure to avoid looking at Angel, proving even more Angel's theory that River ONLY had an issue with HER and not Donna.

"And so far, what we haven't found are any bodies," Lux sighed.

~8~

Evangelista wandered through the open panel and into a shadowy corridor, down it to a lecture room where there were piles of dusty books and cobwebs and...

~8~

Someone screamed.

Everyone dashed out of the room, through the panel, down the corridor, and into the lecture room...only to find it empty, save a skeleton in a white shredded outfit, "Everybody, careful!" the Doctor warned, taking Angel's hand and pulling her to his side, "Stay in the light."

"You keep _saying_ that," Proper Dave muttered, "I don't see the point!"

"Who screamed?"

"Miss Evangelista."

"Where is she?" he looked around, not even noticing Angel's gaze hadn't left the skeleton from the moment they entered.

"Miss Evangelista, please state your current..." River called into the comm. only for it to echo out from the skeleton, "Please state your current..." she stopped, whispering the last word, realization dawning on her, "...position," she stepped to the skeleton and pulled the collar of the suit forward to reveal the green lights of the communicator on, "It's her. It's Miss Evangelista."

"We heard her scream a few seconds ago," Anita frowned, "What could do that to a person in a few seconds?"

"It took a lot _less_ than a few _seconds_ ," the Doctor replied.

"What did?"

" _H_ _ello?_ " Evangelista called from the comm..

"Um, I'm sorry everyone, um, this isn't going to be pleasant," River said quietly, "She's ghosting."

"She's what?" Donna swallowed, knowing she wasn't going to like this.

" _Hello, excuse me? I…I'm sorry, hello? Excuse me?_ "

"That's...that's her, that's Miss Evangelista!"

"I don't want to sound horrible, but couldn't we just...you know?" Other Dave suggested.

"This is her last moment..." River stated harshly, "No, we can't. A little _respect_ , thank you."

" _Sorry, where am I? Excuse me?_ "

"But that's Miss Evangelista," Donna shook her head as Angel stepped over to her and put an arm around her shoulder.

"It's a data ghost, she'll be gone in a moment," River told her quietly before speaking into her comm., "Miss Evangelista, you're fine, just relax. We'll be with you presently."

"What's a data ghost?" Donna looked at Angel.

"There's a neural relay in the communicator," the Doctor explained, "Lets you send thought mails. That's it there, those green lights."

"I've heard that, sometimes it can hold the last thoughts of a person for a little while after death," Angel added, "Like...an after image."

"My grandfather lasted a day," Anita remarked, "Kept talking about his shoelaces."

"She's in there!" Donna exclaimed, horrified.

" _I can't see, I can't...where am I?_ "

"She's just brainwaves now," Proper Dave sighed, "The pattern won't hold for long."

"She's _conscious_!" Donna countered, "She's _thinking_."

" _I can't see, I can't...I don't know what I'm thinking._ "

"She's a footprint on the beach," the Doctor shook his head, "And the tide's coming in."

" _Where's that woman? The nice woman...is she there?_ "

"What woman?" Lux asked.

"Angel?" the Doctor looked at her, she was the nicest woman he knew.

Angel smiled at that, "I think she means Donna."

"Me?" Donna frowned.

" _Is she there? The nice woman?_ "

"Yeah, she's here, hang on," River called into the comm. before turning to Donna, leaving the comm. open, "Go ahead. She can hear you."

" _Hello? Are you there?_ "

But Donna just _couldn't_...

Angel squeezed her tighter, "Help her."

"She's _dead_ ," she argued.

"Yeah," Angel nodded, swallowing hard, feeling empathy with Evangelista despite still being alive, "But you can still help her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh...Donna is NOT at ALL happy with River is she? I did mention once that Donna would defend Angel from someone, we're going to see that next as our favorite ginger companion has some words with Miss River Song :) However, what she gleams from River might confuse you and please you at the same time...only to come back and worry you more later ;)


	32. Silence in the Library: Vashta Nerada

" _Hello?_ " Evangelista called again, " _Is that the nice woman?_ "

"Yeah," Donna stepped forward a bit, but taking Angel's hand instead, keeping her beside her, not wanting to face this, not feeling herself strong enough to do this without her sister there with her, "Hello. Yeah, I'm...I'm...I'm here. You ok?"

" _What I said before, about being stupid. Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh._ "

Angel gave a soft smile, seeing the crew look down a bit in shame, she could tell that they felt terrible for what they'd said about Evangelista, that she knew what they said about her.

"Course I won't. Course I won't tell them."

" _Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh..._ "

"I won't tell them," Donna repeated, starting to frown, "I said I won't."

" _Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh._ "

"I'm not going to tell them," she looked at Angel, alarmed, as Evangelista started to repeat herself more and more. Angel could only squeeze her hand in comfort.

" _Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh..._ "

The lights of the relay started to blink, "She's looping now," River said, "The pattern's degrading."

" _I can't think, I...don't know, I...I...I...Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream._ "

"Does anybody mind if I..." River turned the relay off.

"That was...that was _horrible_ ," Donna whispered, in tears, as Angel pulled her into a tight hug, "That was the most horrible thing I've ever seen!"

The Doctor stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly as well, smiling at Angel as she whispered comforts in Donna's ear, stroking her hair, ' _You really are an angel,_ ' he told her quietly in her mind.

There she was, surrounded by the Vashta Nerada, literally the dark, and he knew she was a bit afraid of it, of the dark, and she was doing all she could to put that aside to help Donna, to comfort her. She just smiled up at him, making his hearts skip a beat as he gazed at her softly. She really was a miracle.

His miracle.

"No," River glared at the skeleton, cutting into his thoughts, for once, not seeming to be doing it on purpose, not even seeming to notice their little moment as she stared at what was left of Evangelista, "It's just a freak of technology. But whatever did this to her, whatever killed her...I'd like a word with that."

"I'll introduce you," the Doctor rushed back out of the room, really just wanting to get them out of the nearly completely dark room and into a lighter one, he didn't trust the shadows, he trusted them even less with Angel standing right there. He led them down the hall, back to the room they came from, everyone following, Angel and Donna in the rear, "I'm gonna need a packed lunch."

"Hang on," River crouched down by her bag, the Doctor before her as she searched for food, first pulling out her diary.

"What's in that book?" the Doctor asked her quietly as he glanced at Angel, who led the still crying Donna off to the side to sit down.

"Spoilers," River smirked.

"Who are you?" he asked, hesitating in asking what he _truly_ wanted to know, the _only_ thing he wanted to know about the future and Angel.

He was torn, he wanted desperately to know that Angel was still there, that he succeeded in saving her, that she was alive and healthy and well again...but...he DIDN'T want to know if she wasn't there. He could feel it even now, the crushing weight hanging over his hearts, threatening to bury him in darkness the moment he lost Angel. It grew heavier and darker each and every day, the more and more she seemed to fade away. If he lost her, if he failed her, if he failed in saving her...

He couldn't bear that.

"Professor River Song, University of..."

"To me. Who are you to me? Is Ang…"

"Again..." she cut in, "Spoilers," and handed him the food, "Chicken, and a bit of salad. Knock yourself out."

After a long, hard look he stood up, "Right, you lot. Let's all meet the Vashta Nerada!"

~8~

"Darling, Dr. Moon is going now," Charlotte's father called to her, "But he'd like a word with you alone, is that alright?"

"Yes, of course, Dr. Moon," she nodded.

"Thank you," Dr. Moon said to her father before walking over to her, "Now, listen. This is important. There's the real world, and there's the world of nightmares. That's right, isn't it? You understand that?"

"Yes, I know, Dr. Moon."

"What I want you to remember is this...and I know it's hard but," he glanced back, making sure her father wasn't listening, "The real world is a lie, and your nightmares are real. The Library is _real_. There are people trapped in there, people who need to be saved. The shadows are moving again. Those people are depending on you. Only you can save them. Only you."

~8~

The Doctor was on the floor, examining the shadows with the sonic, while Angel stood beside him, trying...and failing...to sense where they were. Which, to be honest, left her feeling rather useless, left her to resort to holding the lunch container just to try and be able to help as she rubbed her head. The more she tried to actively sense the shadows, the more her head started to hurt.

"You travel with him, don't you?" River asked as she leaned against a desk by Donna, the two of them watching the Doctor working, completely at ease around her despite her earlier comment about not liking gingers, "The Doctor, you travel with him?"

"And the _Angel_ ," Donna added, glaring at the woman, her lips pursed. It was _really_ starting to irritate her how River seemed to completely disregard Angel. She'd gathered enough to know River was a time traveler, that she was, somehow, a part of the Doctor's future, and that she really disliked Angel. But Angel and the Doctor hadn't met her yet, or didn't seem to recognize her if they had, so she knew it hurt Angel all the more to think that the woman...

Well, she knew what Angel must be thinking.

Either that she'd done something to River in the future that made the woman dislike her so. Which she found completely ridiculous. Angel could barely bring herself to swat a fly let alone do anything to hurt someone else. Literally. She'd gone into the console room once near the beginning of their travels to see Angel running around, waving her hands in the air, as the Doctor sat on the captain's chair, amused. Apparently there was a fly in the room and, instead of letting the Doctor swat it, going so far as to throw the swatter into a supernova...they really seemed to enjoy doing that didn't they...she'd just touched them down on Earth and proceeded to try and usher the fly towards the doors and out them, safe and sound. It was highly amusing but the girl had managed it in the end. So it was either that or...

Or she wasn't there in the future. That River Song, in the future, was someone very, _very_ close to the Doctor (though she refused to think of just _how_ close, because, really, no one would ever suit the Doctor as well as Angel did) and that it was hurting River to see him being so close and affectionate to another woman and so distant to her. She knew Angel must be afraid that River was the Doctor's next Mate...not that _she_ knew if Time Lords could even take a human as a Mate, but she really didn't know what else they'd call their significant other so she just left it as Mate. She knew Angel was afraid River was his next Mate and that River didn't care who Angel was, that she was the first Mate or original Mate or whatever, but just that Angel was some woman intimate with HER Mate.

That last one actually made her feel a bit angry. Both at River AND the Doctor. If it were true of course. She'd be furious that River felt she had such a claim to the man that he couldn't be with anyone, even BEFORE she had him, even when Angel had technically had him first. That River would treat someone else he clearly cared for and cherished with such disdain. Angel would NEVER do that. Anyone that was that important to the Doctor, that meant THAT much to him, meant just as much to her. Hell, she knew that the Doctor was married or something before Angel, he'd implied it when he'd said he'd had children but Angel hadn't on Messaline. If Angel ever met the Doctor's Mate or wife or whatever they were called, (the man must have cared for that woman even a smidge, even if it was just in the context of being the mother of his children) she would NEVER treat the woman like River was her. She'd be her typical polite self, she'd be kind and considerate and understanding.

But that was just how Angel was.

And, if...a BIG IF...Angel died, she would and was fully prepared to give the Doctor one hell of a wallop because IF that second thought was right and River was the one he'd moved on to...well...that spoke for itself. Angel was her SISTER, she loved that girl as though she really were her sister, and the Doctor made her so happy, Angel loved the Doctor so much that, she knew, it would kill Angel, break her precious hearts, to know that the Doctor moved on after she died. Oh, she was sure that Angel would find someway to try and be happy about it, find the good in the bad, tell herself that it was a GOOD thing that the Doctor was able to find happiness after her, find love, and live, but she knew, deep inside, that it would hurt the girl just as much to know that...that he didn't love her as much as he always claimed if he was able to move on and replace her with River. Angel was one-of-a-kind, she was special, and SHE knew that no one could ever live up to Angel. And she prayed that the last thought was wrong because the Doctor, he really did love Angel SO much.

She really couldn't imagine the Doctor without Angel.

And that was the problem.

Both those thoughts warred in her mind, because they were both the only situations that made sense, but both were impossible. Angel would never hurt anyone and the Doctor could never move on from Angel...

So what was River Song's problem?!

Oh time travel, it was giving her a headache.

"Yes," River nodded tensely, as though sensing Donna's irritation, "And her…"

"What of it?" she crossed her arms defensively.

"Proper Dave, could you move over a bit?" the Doctor asked as he came to the man along his way.

"Why?" he frowned.

"Over there by the water cooler. Thanks."

Proper Dave sighed before walking over to the rest of the group.

"You know the Doctor, don't you?" Donna asked carefully, knowing she should at least try to be careful, both with how she questioned the woman, knowing how the Doctor felt about the slips of the future, and with trying to keep her temper in check. If she blew up at the woman, there was little chance she'd answer the questions she needed to ask.

"Oh, God, do I know that man," River smiled, beamed more like it, "We go way back, that man and me. Just not this far back."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"He hasn't met me yet. I sent him a message but it went wrong, it arrived too early. This is the Doctor in the days _before_ he knew me. And he looks at me...he looks right _through_ me and it shouldn't kill me, but it does."

"What are you _talking_ about?" Donna nearly shouted, "Are you just talking rubbish? Do you know him or don't you? And what about Angel?!"

"Donna!" the Doctor yelled, "Quiet! I'm working."

"Sorry!"

"Donna?" River stared at her wide eyed, " _You're_ Donna? Donna Noble?"

She'd heard Angel say something about a Donna before, when Evangelista had begun asking for the nice lady, but...she hadn't exactly paid much attention when the girl spoke. And why should she? But the Doctor on the other hand...

"Yeah. Why?"

"I _do_ know the Doctor. But in the future. His _personal_ future."

Donna frowned at the implication, "And Angel? Do you know her?"

River let out a small laugh, "Spoilers."

Donna's lips pursed even more, "Tell me."

"I can't."

"You listen to me _Missy_ ," Donna leaned in, a fire in her eyes, absolutely fed up with the woman's attitude and spoilers and rubbish nonsense about whatever relationship she had with the Doctor, this was NOT something she was going to let the woman get out of, "I don't care if it's spoilers or against the laws of the Universe or the rules of time travel or what, you tell me what I want to know, you tell me _now_ , or so help me I will give you such a smacking your _grandparents_ will feel it!" she hissed at River, actually making the woman lean back at the venom in her voice.

River seemed to gather herself quickly enough and crossed her arms, "The Doctor's companions don't use violence."

Donna scoffed, "HIS companions might not, but Angel is my _sister_ and you do ANYTHING for family. And, on that note," she stepped back a bit, giving River more attitude than threats, "Do you think it's funny, do you? How you're treating her? Oh I've seen it with my own two eyes and I've had it up to here with it," she put her hand to her neck, "So Back. Off. Understood?"

River's jaw tensed, but she nodded, knowing better than to face down an angry Donna Noble.

"Good," Donna nodded as well, "Now...do you know about Angel or don't you?"

River hesitated, "Yeah…I do."

Donna allowed herself a small smile at that, feeling giddy that River seemed to be admitting to knowing Angel _in the future_...

Not even realizing she'd only asked if River knew _about_ Angel and not knew _Angel_.

"Why are you so cold to her?" she fixed River with a hard look, getting back to the point, if River knew Angel, she must know the sort of person she was, so treating her like this...it was just _wrong_ , "It's obvious you don't like her."

"We have a…personal matter…between us," River struggled to find the words to say without giving away too much.

"Yeah, but if they haven't met you yet, then she hasn't done whatever upsets you," Donna smirked, pleased with having figured that out, with having disputed River's reasons for treating Angel so horribly.

River just watched as the Doctor stood up, Angel helping him to his feet. The Doctor smiled at her softly in thanks, such a love and happiness shining in his eyes, before giving her a quick peck and then a second and third, "Yes..." she swallowed, a hint of sadness in her voice, "She has."

Donna looked over at the small display of affection and turned back to River, sensing an end to that particular topic and...the look on River's face...it was almost...like the look of someone who felt they just...weren't enough...for some reason. She couldn't fathom what that could be, the woman seemed to have everything, confidence, intelligence, beauty...she shook her head, there was still one more question she needed to ask, "So you know him, and you know her…why don't you know me? Where am I in the future?"

Before River could answer the Doctor called out, "Ok, we've got a live one! That's not darkness down those tunnels, this is not a shadow. It's a swarm. A man-eating swarm," he took the chicken leg from Angel's hand and tossed it out into the shadows. By the time it reached the ground, it was only bone left, "The piranhas of the air, the Vashta Nerada. Literally 'the shadows that melt the flesh.' Most planets have them, but usually in small clusters. I've never seen an infestation on this scale, or this aggressive."

"What d'you mean, most planets?" Donna walked over, "Not Earth?"

"Mmm, Earth, and a billion other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada."

"Sometimes, if you look close, you can see them," Angel told her, "The dust that floats in the sunbeams."

"If they were on Earth, we'd know," Donna countered.

"Nah, normally they live on road kill," the Doctor waved her off, "But sometimes people go missing. Not everyone comes back out of the dark."

" _Every_ shadow?" River frowned.

"No. But _any_ shadow."

"So what do we do?"

"Daleks, aim for the eyestalk. Sontarans, back of the neck. Vashta Nerada...run! Just _run_."

"Run?" she scoffed, "Run where?"

"This is an index point. There must be an exit teleport somewhere," he turned to Lux.

"Don't look at me, I haven't memorized the schematics!" Lux snapped.

"The little shop!" Donna gasped, "They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff."

"You're right!" the Doctor grinned, "Brilliant! That's why I like the little shop!"

"Ok, let's move it!" Proper Dave headed towards the shop, when the Doctor spotted something.

"Actually, Proper Dave, could you stay where you are for a moment?"

"Why?"

"I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry."

"Dave…" Angel began, seeing what the Doctor had, "You've got _two_ shadows," everyone looked down to see Proper Dave's shadows dividing.

"It's how they hunt, they latch on to a food source and keep it fresh."

"What do I do?" Proper Dave panted.

"You stay absolutely still. Like there's a wasp in the room, like there's a million wasps."

"We won't leave you Dave, I promise," Angel offered him a smile, crossing her hearts, just...wanting to comfort him, not even seeing River close her mouth, having been about to do the same thing.

"Course we're not leaving," the Doctor agreed, smiling at Angel as he wound an arm around her waist to squeeze her a moment, kissing her head for her compassion, River's lips pursing more for it, "Where's your helmet? Don't point, just tell me."

"On the floor, by my bag."

Anita moved to retrieve it.

"Don't cross his shadow!" the Doctor warned, watching her, before taking the helmet from her, "Thanks. Now, the rest of you, helmets back on and sealed up. We'll need everything we've got," he turned and put the helmet on Proper Dave.

"But Doctor, _we_ haven't got any helmets," Donna told him.

"Yeah, but we're safe anyway."

"How are we safe?"

"We're not, that was a clever lie to shut you up. Professor, anything I can do with the suit?"

"What good are the damn suits?" Lux snapped, "Miss Evangelista was wearing her suit, there was nothing left."

"We can increase the mesh-density, dial it up 400 percent," River replied, "Make it a tougher meal."

"Ok," the Doctor soniced Proper Dave's suit, "800 percent! Pass it on," he held the sonic out to River but she just lifted a similar one.

"Gotcha!" she smirked, making him and Angel tense at the sight of it.

"What's that?"

"It's a screwdriver."

"It's sonic."

"Yeah, I know. Snap!"

She turned and went around sealing everyone's suits with her sonic as the Doctor watched her with suspicion, Angel watching with a small weary frown...the sonic, even with a different end and more added to it, they both recognized it, it was _the Doctor's_ sonic.

The Doctor suddenly grabbed Donna's hand and pulled her off, "With me, come on!"

They ran to the shop, Angel following a bit slower behind, "What are we doing, we're shopping?" Donna called, "Is it a good time to shop?"

"No talking, just moving! Try it! Right, stand there in the middle," he positioned her on a small round platform before rushing over to Angel as she stood by a control panel, "It's a teleport. Stand in the middle. Can't send the others, TARDIS won't recognize them."

"What are you doing?!"

"You don't have a suit, you're not safe!"

"You don't have a suit, neither does Angel, so you're in just as much danger as I am and I'm not leaving..."

"Donna!" he interrupted, "Let me explain," and then pushed a lever, teleporting her away, "Oh, that's how you do it!" he turned to Angel, "Your turn."

"No," she shook her head.

"Angel…"

"I'm _not_ leaving you," she said, taking his hand, "I'm going to spend the rest of my time with _you_ , not locked away in the TARDIS worrying about you. Alright?"

He sighed. He knew there was another reason for her reluctance to leave.

River.

And he had to admit, he was more than a little reluctant to be left alone with the woman as well, "Alright," he agreed.

"Doctor!" River shouted.

Angel closed her eyes tightly, no calls for _her_.

He squeezed her hand and they dashed back to the group.

~8~

Donna started to appear in the TARDIS but...just before the process could finish...she disappeared with a scream.

~8~

"Where did it go?" the Doctor looked down at Proper Dave's single shadow.

"It's just gone," he shrugged, "I...I looked round, one shadow. See."

"Does that mean we can leave?" River wondered, "I don't want to hang around here."

"I don't know why we're still here," Lux grumbled, "We _can_ leave him, can't we? I mean, no offense..."

"Shut up, Mr. Lux."

"Did you feel anything funny Dave?" Angel asked the man cautiously, "Like...um...an energy transfer?" she glanced at the Doctor as he nodded, it was a good way to describe it, "Anything?"

"No, no, but, look, it's...it's gone," Proper Dave started to turn in a circle to show them he was clear.

"Stop there, stop, stop, stop there, stop moving!" the Doctor shouted, pulling Angel back with him as he moved, "They're never just gone. And they never give up," he knelt down and began to flash the sonic across the shadow, "Well, this one's benign…"

Angel frowned…even SHE knew Vashta Nerada were _nothing_ of the sort.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"No one, they're fine," the Doctor looked up.

"No, seriously, turn them back on!"

"They _are_ on," River added.

"I can't see a ruddy thing."

"Dave, turn round," the Doctor pushed himself to his knees.

Proper Dave turned around to reveal his face cloaked in darkness, "What's going on? Why can't I see? Is the power gone, are we safe here?"

"Dave, I want you stay still, absolutely still," the Doctor ordered lightly as Proper Dave suddenly tensed, "Dave? Dave? Dave, can you hear me, are you alright? Talk to me, Dave."

"I'm fine, I'm ok, I'm...I'm fine."

"I want you to stay still, absolutely still."

"I'm fine, I'm ok, I'm…I'm fine. I can't...why can't I? I...I can't...why can't I? I...I can't...why can't I? I..." they looked at the lights on Proper Dave's communicator as they blinked.

"He's gone," River swallowed, "He's ghosting."

"Then why is he still standing?" Lux frowned.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights? Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

Cautiously the Doctor moved closer to Proper Dave.

"Doctor, don't!" both Angel and River shouted, River throwing a glare at the woman afterwards, but Angel paid her no mind, focusing on the Doctor.

"Dave, can you hear me?" he called.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" he suddenly moved to grab the Doctor's neck but Angel pulled him back just in time. The Doctor jumped to his feet and flashed the man's helmet, revealing a skeleton, "Who turned out the lights? Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"Excuse me!" River stepped forward, using her own sonic to stun the skeleton for a few moments.

"Back from it, get back, right back!" the Doctor shouted, ushering the group back as Proper Dave started to walk towards them awkwardly.

"Doesn't move very fast does it?"

"It's a swarm in a suit. But it's learning."

Several shadows reached out from Proper Dave towards them.

"What do we do?" Lux gasped, "Where do we go?"

"See that wall behind you?" River turned to him, "Duck!"

Lux ducked as River used a sonic blaster to make a hole in the wall.

"Squareness gun!" the Doctor cheered as Angel recalled the last time she'd seen a squareness gun.

Jack

Did River know Jack too?

"Everybody out," River ordered, "Go, go, go! Move it, move, move! Move it, move, move!" they all ran out of the room and into a shadowy aisle between bookshelves, a narrow line of light near the left shelf, "You said not every shadow?"

"But _any_ shadow!"

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"Run!" River called, seemingly about to take the Doctor's hand when he grabbed Angel's instead and they all ran off.

~8~

"Sweetie, dinner's ready," Charlotte's dad called.

"Donna Noble has been saved," Charlotte replied, her voice monotoned again.

"Sweetie?"

~8~

The Doctor stood on a dustbin, fiddling with a hanging lamp above him with his sonic, River and Angel near him, Angel had been leaning on the bookshelf, trying to catch her breath, and slid down to sit on the ground, her knees curled up, _so tired_ , while the rest of the group sat there, panting, River looking perfectly at ease.

"Trying to boost the power," the Doctor muttered, "Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down."

"So, what's the plan?" River looked up, "Do we _have_ a plan?" she pointed her screwdriver up and the light became brighter.

"Your screwdriver..." he looked at it, "Looks exactly like mine."

"Yeah. You gave it to me."

"I don't give my screwdriver to anyone," he hopped off the bin and moved to kneel before Angel, checking on her, sonicing her.

"I'm not _anyone_ ," River smirked over his shoulder, casting a quick, almost victorious smirk at Angel.

Donna had told her to back off.

But Donna wasn't there at the moment was she?

Angel looked down, and that was it. She knew. She wasn't there in the future, she died…and the Doctor had moved on…to River apparently…he _had_ to have…well…at least he still _had_ a future…that was…good…

"Who _are_ you?" the Doctor frowned, taking Angel's hand tightly.

"What's the plan?" River asked, her smirk gone before the Doctor could see it when he looked up at her.

"I teleported Donna back to the TARDIS. If we don't get back there in under five hours, Emergency Program One will activate..."

"Take her home, yeah," River nodded, calling to the group, "We need to get a shift on."

Angel eyed the woman with a frown, she knew about Emergency Program One...so...she knew about the TARDIS. But...how much did she know about the old box? Did...did the TARDIS _like_ River? The box was very protective of her at times it seemed, she...she swallowed hard, she hoped the box would be kind to River in the future. If...if she died and River...and River was a comfort to the Doctor then...she hoped the box would accept her.

She knew the Doctor, she knew how rash he could be, how he sometimes got so emotional...she didn't know what he _really_ thought about her dying, he was always sure not to think much of it or let her hear those thoughts when he _did_ think deeply on it, not wanting to worry her or upset her or remind her of it but...she knew him. She could just tell that whatever he really thought of her death, it wouldn't be good for him or the Universe. If...if River could stop him, if River could...pull him out of the darkness, like _she_ did...that was all she wanted, for the Doctor to be happy and live.

She closed her eyes tightly, feeling tears in them, trying to convince herself that everything she'd just thought was what she'd really feel if River was someone that close to the Doctor. She'd feel happy for him that he was able to be happy, he had to because...she didn't want him to feel sad. She HAD to feel happy...didn't she?

But...if she did...why did it feel like her hearts were breaking?

Why did it _hurt_ so much?

The Doctor moved to sit beside her, putting his arm around her, sensing her growing upset, but...not knowing why. She was hiding her thoughts, and he knew...she only really did that now when she was thinking about her situation and what was coming for her. He swallowed hard, wanting to comfort her more but...for once...not knowing what to say that could make her feel better. With River there...everything was so confusing, they had NO idea what their future was like now that River was there. Did she know Angel? Didn't she? Did he even have a future after Angel?

Because he couldn't picture one.

But there was River, clearly from _his_ future, clearly a future _without_ Angel.

So what had happened?

He shook his head, he did NOT want to think about that, about a future that didn't include Angel, so he looked down at his sonic, needing a distraction...and getting a very good one as he realized something. He quickly held it to his ear, "She's not there. I should've received a signal, the console signals me if there's a teleport breach," he looked at Angel, "Did you feel anything?"

Angel's eyes widened as she shook her head, a terrible pit forming in her already upset stomach...no, she _hadn't_.

"Well, maybe the coordinates have slipped," River called, walking back over to lean on a bookshelf across from them, "The equipment here's ancient."

The Doctor jumped up and ran to a Node in the back, "Donna Noble. There's a Donna Noble somewhere in this Library. Do you have the software to locate her position?"

The Node turned around, _Donna's face_ on it, "Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."

"Donna!" Angel gasped, scrambling to her feet and rushing to the Doctor's side.

"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."

"How can it be Donna?" River frowned, "How's that _possible_?"

"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."

"Oh, Donna…" the Doctor sighed, shaking his head.

"Donna Noble has left the Library."

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

River turned to see Proper Dave appear at the other end of the aisle, but the Doctor and Angel were far too devastated to notice, "Doctor!"

"Donna Noble has been saved."

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"Donna Noble has left the Library."

"Doctor, we've got to go, now!" River tried again, "Angel!"

Angel snapped out of it and grabbed the Doctor's hand, pulling him back to the rest of the group.

"Donna Noble has been saved."

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"Donna Noble has left the Library."

They were cornered now as Proper Dave came at them from one end of the aisle, the shadows moving closer on the other end.

"Doctor, what are we gonna do?" River shouted.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a line in this chapter about River knowing Angel in the future...very vague though }:) Was it REALLY that she knows OF Angel? Or that she knows her? Not saying :) But poor Angel, that little bit at the end, where she's actually hit with the idea of what the Doctor might do with other women after her death...poor her. It's like she wants him to live on, to be ok when she dies, but then realizes that means finding love with someone else. And she wants that for him, she wants him to be able to be happy, but it's hitting her that...it won't be HER :'(
> 
> But did you LOVE Donna?! OMG! I so wanted her to give River a piece of her mind and I couldn't see Donna as caring about spoilers or the future when her sister's life is on the line :) Gingers United! Standing strong :) Woo!


	33. Forest of the Dead: A Whisper

"Hey! Who turned out the lights? Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

River looked around, at the shadows approaching, at Proper Dave in his spacesuit inching closer, and then at the wall behind them. She turned and fired her squareness gun at it, making a hole in it, ushering them through it, "This way, quickly, move!"

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

~8~

Charlotte sat on the sofa, watching the group race through the hole on the telly, frowning as she saw that River woman frowning at the Doctor helping the nice Angel lady through it. But that wasn't all that was worrying her, "Dad, the Library, it's on television now."

"How many times, darling?" the man sighed, "The Library is just your imagination."

Charlotte flipped a few channels, all of them showing different parts of the Library, at least until she saw one of a hospital where an ambulance was pulling up. The crew rolled a stretcher out and she gasped at who was lying on it, "Donna?"

~8~

Donna sat on a hospital bed, in pajamas, when Dr. Moon entered the room, "Hello, Donna."

"Who are you?" Donna frowned, eyeing him.

"I'm Dr. Moon. I've been treating you since you came here, two years ago."

"Oh, God," her eyes widened, "Dr. Moon, I'm so sorry! What's wrong with me? I didn't know you for a moment."

"And then you remembered," he nodded, smiling reassuringly at her, "Shall we go for a walk?"

She nodded and got up out of her bed, wincing as she knocked into her bedside table, knocking over a few items on it. She quickly crouched down and scooped them up, frowning as she picked up a small angel figurine, the little ginger woman with wings holding a card that read 'Get Well Soon' on it in blue lettering. She touched it gently, she didn't know why it was there, one of the nurses must have left it there years ago but it had always been there, always been there for her.

Her own little guardian angel.

She smiled and placed it back on the little table, before turning to follow Dr. Moon out.

~8~

Dr. Moon and Donna were walking through the garden at the front of the hospital, Dr. Moon watching Donna intently as she looked at the flowers, but with a small frown on her face. There was...something...about the flowers, about the garden...that made her sad. She didn't know why because flowers were beautiful and they always bloomed and grew if they were properly cared for...and that was it, there was something about THAT that upset her...but...she didn't know why...

"No more dreams, then?" he asked, if just to pull her attention back to the present and away from whatever depressing thoughts might have struck her, "The Doctor, the Angel, and the blue box, time and space, that golden light..."

"How did we get here?" she looked around, feeling a bit alarmed, she couldn't remember getting there. The last thing she could recall was that she was in the hospital room, she'd just turned to follow him...and suddenly they were in the garden.

"We came down the stairs, out the front door. We passed Mrs. Ali on the way out."

"Yeah," she blinked, rubbing her head, "Yeah, we did. I forgot that."

She seemed to be forgetting a lot of things lately. And that was worrying her because...there was something she wasn't supposed to forget. There was something...someone...someone important, someone who needed her. They were hurt or something, they weren't...well...and they needed her...but she couldn't remember who.

"And then you remembered," Dr. Moon nodded, "Shall we go down to the river?"

~8~

Donna frowned, looking around to find them suddenly by the river in a park, "You said 'river' and suddenly we're feeding ducks..." she murmured, before frowning, "I don't like rivers."

River...there was something about the river that irritated her. It looked beautiful on the outside, shining and flowing and calm but...that wasn't what it was. It wasn't any of that, it was deep and shifting and...cold. She just didn't like it. She didn't like the river at all. Wouldn't catch her swimming in one.

"Dr. Moon!" a rather handsome man called as he jogged over to them, smiling, "Morning."

"Donna Noble, Lee McAvoy," he introduced.

"Hello, Lee," Donna smiled.

"Hi, D...D...D..." he stuttered, suddenly a bit flustered at the lovely ginger before him.

"Oh, you've got bit of a stammer there...bless!" Donna smiled, feeling a little flattered that she'd managed to render the man speechless. It made her feel, well, beautiful, and no one had ever really called her that. Well, no one except her sister.

She blinked, did she have a sister? No. No she didn't have one. That was silly.

"D...D..."

"Oh, skip to a vowel, they're easy!" she suggested as they laughed.

~8~

Donna and Dr. Moon were sitting together, back in the hospital garden, "How did we leave it, him and me?" Donna asked, slowly becoming less concerned with her little lapses in memory, it all worked out in the end.

"I got the impression he was inviting you fishing tomorrow," Dr. Moon replied with a smile.

~8~

Donna stepped into Lee's room in rather sexy, glittery clothes, "So...fishing!"

~8~

It was raining as Donna and Lee sat by the river under a huge umbrella, Donna wearing a rather pretty dress, smiling at the rain. It was a rather dark day, cold, raining, not at all the happy day she'd been hoping for with Lee, but...she was with Lee and she was happy. It felt nice, to find the good in the bad. She couldn't help but feel like that was something someone had taught her. She didn't know who, but she liked the feeling of being able to smile despite a bad situation.

There was always hope.

"D...D..." Lee tried to get out.

"Gorgeous and can't speak a word," she smiled at him, kissing his cheek, "What am I gonna do with you?"

~8~

Lee carried Donna, in her wedding gown, over the threshold while bells rang in the background, "Welcome home, M…Mrs. McAvoy," he grinned as they kissed.

Donna's smile was a bit sad when she pulled away though, she hadn't had a maid of honor at the wedding. It wasn't that none of her friends or family had offered or were unavailable but...they just...weren't right. So they'd gone with a simple ceremony, her and Lee and close family and friends, just the two of them together.

~8~

Dr. Moon sat in Donna's sitting room, looking at a photo album while Donna's children, a little boy and girl, ran around, playing, "Stop it!" Donna called, "Stop it now, we've got a visitor."

"You've done so much in seven years, Donna," Dr. Moon smiled at her.

"Ah, sometimes it feels more like 70," she frowned, confused, "Mind you, sometimes it feels like no time at all."

He stood up, "Can I just say what a pleasure it is to see you fully integrated?"

Donna gasped as Dr. Moon suddenly became fuzzy and disappeared, only to be replaced by the Doctor and the Angel, two people she'd been having odd dreams and memories about.

"No, the signal's definitely coming from the moon," the Doctor was saying, "I'm blocking it, but it's trying to break through…"

"Donna!" Angel exclaimed, spotting her.

They disappeared and Dr. Moon was back again, solid and real, Donna staring at him, "Oops, sorry. Mrs. Angelo's rhubarb surprise. Will I never learn?"

Donna backed away in shock, shaking her head, pointing at him, "The Doctor and Angel! I saw them!"

"Yes, you did, Donna," he nodded slowly, "And then, you forgot."

Donna blinked a few times and smiled at him, "Dr. Moon! Oh, hello! Shall I make you a cup of tea?" she turned to head to the kitchen, her children racing past her, "John, Angela, you quit that, Dr. Moon's here to visit!"

~8~

The dome over one of the Library's rooms started to dim as a huge moon and sunset rose up, changing with the time of day. River blasted a way into the room with her blaster, the square hole ever-present, "Ok, we've got a clear spot," she called, seeing the light in the middle of the room, "In, in, in! Right in the center, in the middle of the light, quickly! Don't let your shadows cross. Doctor..."

"I'm doing it," the Doctor cut in as they jumped to the center of the room and started sonicing the shadows around them, checking to see if the Vashta Nerada had followed them.

"There's no lights here. Sunset's coming, we can't stay long. Have you found a live one?"

"Maybe, it's getting harder to tell," he bashed the sonic, "What's wrong with you?"

"We're gonna need a chicken leg. Who's got a chicken leg?" Other Dave handed one over, "Thanks Dave," she turned and tossed the leg into the shadow the Doctor was examining, the meat stripping to the bone before it even hit the floor, "Ok...ok, we've got a hot one. Watch your feet."

"They won't attack until there's enough of them, but they've got our scent now, they're coming," the Doctor muttered as he turned and took Angel's hand as she panted beside him, calming from the run, a hand to her chest as she tried to breath. He kissed the back of her hand and turned to continue trying to examine the rest of the shadows, Angel at his side, not about to let her stray too far with the killer shadows lurking, no, he was going to keep her right beside him unless he absolutely had to be parted from her...much like he always felt.

"Who _is_ he?" Other Dave asked River quietly, "Who are they? You haven't even told us. You just expect us to trust him."

"He's the Doctor," River replied.

"And her?" Anita frowned.

"The Angel," River said, monotoned, conveying no emotion towards the woman despite the warmth with which she'd said the Doctor.

"And who is the Doctor?" Lux shook his head, "And the Angel for that matter?"

"The only story you'll ever tell, if you survive him," River smirked.

"You say he's your friend, but he doesn't even know who you are," Anita began cautiously, not wanting to anger the leader of their expedition, "…and you don't seem to like the girl that much."

River sighed, growing frustrated, "Listen, all you need to know is this...I'd trust that man to the end of the Universe. And actually, we've been."

"What about her?" Other Dave asked, eyeing Angel, all of the crew were able to tell that River had some sort of issue with the woman. They couldn't tell if she even really knew her or if the fact that the girl was apparently with that Doctor man was what was getting to her, but whatever reason it was, she didn't seem to bring the girl up much. How could she expect them to trust the man but not the woman if they were so close?

"Yeah…" she answered after a moment, not seeming pleased to have to say it, to say that Angel was trustworthy too, though the crew wasn't entirely sure if she even knew if the woman _was_ trustworthy, if she even knew the woman at all, "I suppose, her too."

"He doesn't act like he trusts you," Anita remarked.

"Yeah, there's a tiny problem," she huffed, getting a bit annoyed with how they kept bringing up that little fact, "He hasn't met me yet," she got up and walked over to the Doctor who was fiddling with his sonic, frustrated, Angel just looking out at the shadows in caution, "What's wrong with it?"

"There's a signal coming from somewhere, interfering with it," the Doctor muttered.

"Then use the red settings."

"It doesn't have a red setting."

"Well, use the dampers."

"It doesn't have dampers."

"It will do one day," she smiled, holding up her sonic to show him.

"So some time in the future, I just _give_ you my screwdriver?" the Doctor eyed her with a frown.

"Yeah."

"Why?" Angel asked her.

"I didn't pluck it from his cold dead hands, if that's what you're worried about," River glared at her, nearly snapping at her.

"She's got a point," the Doctor defended, his own eyes narrowing at her for her tone, about to give her a piece of his mind about how she was treating Angel, when Angel put a hand on his arm, rubbing it a moment, and he knew she was trying to calm him down. He took a breath, "I would know that how?"

"Listen to me," River turned to him, speaking calmly, soothingly, reaching out to put a hand on his arm, only for him to step back away from her, dropping her hand as she took a breath herself, "You've lost your friend, you're angry, I understand. But you need to be less emotional, Doctor. Right now..."

"Less em...I'm _not_ emotional!"

"There are six people in this room still alive, focus on that. Dear God, you're hard work young!"

" _Young_?!" he scoffed, now he was starting to get irritated, why did she keep saying things like that, like she knew him or something, she didn't know the first thing about him, or Angel, and she wouldn't ever if he got his way, if Angel died, she wouldn't _ever_ know him, he swore it, "Who _are_ you?!"

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Lux cried, "Look at the pair of you! We're all gonna die right here, and you're just squabbling like an old married couple."

The Doctor backed away at those words, moving to right to Angel's side.

The only one he'd _ever_ marry, was Angel, and the girl had been right, Mate was a FAR more special word than wife.

River frowned at the action before sighing, almost in what seemed to be exasperation at how he kept returning to Angel, which confused them, why wouldn't he turn to Angel?

"Doctor..." she began, eyeing him a moment as though debating something, casting one quick glance at Angel before nodding to herself, "One day I'm going to be someone that you trust _completely_ , but I can't wait for you to find that out. So I'm going to prove it to you. And I'm sorry. I'm really _very_ sorry," she leaned in, pausing as he leaned backa way from her, before pacing her hand on his arm to keep him in place as she leaned in again...and whispered in his ear, stunning him entirely as she pulled away, "Are we good? Doctor...are we good?"

He just shook his head and took Angel's hand, squeezing it as he stared at River in a mixture of suspicion and refusal. What she'd just whispered to him...was impossible. There was NO way she could possibly know that.

No way at all.

Not ever.

It was impossible!

River, however, glanced at Angel to see tears forming in the girl's eyes and did her very best not to smirk in triumph at that, able to convey what she had been hoping they would both realize in her whispered words. Perhaps now they would act a bit differently. She turned, focusing on the Doctor again, "Are we good?" she repeated.

"Yes," Angel whispered for him, swallowing hard as her voice broke, squeezing the Doctor's hand as well, so tightly that her pale hands, her knuckles were turning even whiter.

"Good," River nodded and walked back to the group.

The Doctor watched her go, even more in turmoil. He'd come to the same conclusion that Angel had about River's focus on him and irritation with her. He'd entertained the thought...for a split second...that Angel was gone in the future and he'd broken his silent promise to follow her and moved on to River and that River was acting this way because she was seeing him with Angel and not with _her_...before dismissing it _entirely_. He knew in his hearts of hearts, there would be _no_ moving on from the woman. She was…she was just his _everything_.

He'd rather live to the end of eternity without her than love anyone else.

But now…what River had whispered to him…there was literally only ONE time when they told another soul their names. It was only ever done when they took a Mate, it was _that_ sacred of a secret. Not even your 'wife' or 'husband' knew what your real name was because they were not people you trusted enough to tell it to, only your Mate.

But...even if he had somehow moved on...how could he _possibly_ tell River? River was human! She certainly wasn't a Time Lady, neither of them had sensed her as one. So...why? Why would he tell her his name? Was it...was it like she had said, where he had grown to trust her to the same level he trusted Angel and told her in a symbolic sense?

That _couldn't_ be right though because ANGEL was his Mate!

Only Angel knew his name.

He ran a hand through his hair, he was so confused. He'd sworn on everything he held dear, on Angel's lives, that he would follow her if she died and failed to come back to him. How could he possibly be around long enough after that to tell River his name? He highly doubted he'd tell her barely knowing her, he doubted that they'd meet her again before Angel...died...

And suddenly...he felt his hearts fill with a ray of hope, what if...what if Angel was still there?! What if she was there and THAT was how he'd been around long enough? But...why would he tell _River_ his name if he still had _Angel_? He felt his fleeting hope falling yet again.

Nothing made sense anymore.

If Angel was there in the future, he'd never tell River his name. If Angel wasn't there in the future then River still wouldn't know his name because he refused to carry on after that. But River was from his future and River knew his name and he couldn't understand how both situations could work, Angel not being there but him being there or Angel being there and River knowing his name. It just...warred within him. Two versions of the future tugging at him, neither one possible yet somehow...had happened.

What bothered him, possibly more than whatever was coming for him and Angel, was the present. It was River. It was why was she so cold to Angel, so harsh. He'd seen it, the glares, the snippy replies, the way she ignored her. Why?

He felt almost bad for hoping this, but...he truly hoped that it might be a sign that Angel was there in the future and River knew her and just didn't like her, though it made no sense to him, how anyone could ever hate Angel. Maybe Angel had done something to her to make the woman dislike her but...that made even less sense…still, it would mean she was _there_. But then why didn't River know her?

God, he was going mad just thinking about it!

He shook his head fiercely, no, no more thinking about it, about the what ifs. Because there weren't any.

Either Angel was there in the future or he wasn't.

And that was it.

He took a breath, getting back to reality, changing the topic, trying to get Angel's mind from going where his had, "Know what's interesting about my screwdriver? Very hard to interfere with, practically nothing's strong enough...well, some hairdryers, but I'm working on that. So there is a very strong signal coming from somewhere, and it wasn't there before, so what's new, what's changed?" the group looked at each other, "Come on! What's new? What's different?"

"I dunno, nothing," Other Dave guessed, "It's getting dark?"

"It's a screwdriver, it works in the dark," the Doctor replied before looking up at the darkening sky and spotting the moon, "Moonrise...tell me about the moon. What's there?"

"It's not real, it was built as part of the Library," Lux shrugged, "It's just a doctor moon."

"A doctor moon?" Angel frowned, glancing at the Doctor.

"A virus checker. It supports and maintains the main computer at the core of the planet."

The Doctor switched on the sonic, "Well, still active, it's signaling, look. Someone somewhere in this Library is alive and communicating with the moon, or, possibly alive and drying their hair. No, the signal's definitely coming from the moon. I'm blocking it, but it's trying to break through..."

Suddenly a hazy image of Donna appeared behind him.

"Donna!" Angel gasped, spotting her.

But the image faded.

"That was your friend!" River exclaimed, "Can you get her back? What was that?"

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," the Doctor bashed the sonic again, "I'm trying to find the wavelength. Ah, I'm being blocked."

"Professor?" Anita called, scared.

"Just a moment," River waved her off.

But Angel turned to her, hearing a tremor in the woman's voice, "Anita, what is it? Are you alright?"

Which made the Doctor look up as well.

Anita swallowed, "I have two shadows..."

The crew turned to see she did indeed have two shadows, just like Proper Dave had, "Ok," River took charge, "Helmets on everyone. Anita, I'll get yours."

"It didn't do Proper Dave any good."

"Just keep it together, ok?"

"Keeping it together, I'm only crying. I'm about to die, it's not an overreaction," she sniffled as River put the helmet on her.

"Hang on," the Doctor soniced the helmet dark.

"Oh, God, they've got inside!" River cried.

"No, no, no, I just tinted her visor. Maybe they'll think they're already in there, leave her alone."

"D'you think they can be fooled like that?"

"Maybe. I don't know. It's a swarm, it's not like we chat."

"Can you still see in there?" Other Dave asked.

"Just about," Anita replied.

"Just...just...just...stay back," the Doctor said, "Angel, professor, a quick word, please."

"What?" River looked at him, refraining from shooting a look at Angel as she walked over to them.

"Down here," the Doctor knelt down, moving his arm around Angel's waist to help steady her as she moved, he'd noticed standing or sitting too quickly made her dizzy.

"What is it?"

"Like you said, there are six people still alive in this room."

"Yeah, so?"

"So...there are _seven_ people here right now," Angel whispered to her.

River spun around to see another spacesuit standing by a door, "Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"Run!" the Doctor yelled, grabbing Angel's hand and running out of the room, Proper Dave chasing them, faster than he'd been before.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights? Hey! Who turned out the lights? Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

~8~

Charlotte watched, scared, as Proper Dave headed after the small group, cuddling a pillow to her chest, before shaking her head, too scared and flipping back to a lighter channel, to Donna.

~8~

Donna entered her sitting room with two cups of tea in hand, "Here we are, Dr. Moon."

Her daughter, Angela, ran in showing her a clay figure, "Mummy, I made you!"

"Oh, that's nice, Angela," she smiled, but it soon turned to a frown when she saw the figure seemed to be a bit unfinished, "Where's the face?"

"I don't know."

Donna put down the cups in her hand and looked at the table, confused, "Did you see Dr. Moon? Did he leave?"

Lee entered the room and the children ran to hug him, "Daddy!"

"Hey!" he laughed, hugging them, "Hello, you two, come here! Big hugs, big daddy hugs!"

"Look what I made!" Angela held up her creation.

"Oh, it's...mummy?"

"Erm, it hasn't got a face," Donna murmured softly, " Did you see the Doctor."

Lee looked at her a moment, "Dr. Moon?"

She blinked, "Right, yeah."

"No," he shrugged, "Why, was he here?"

"Yeah, just a second ago. You must have passed him," she walked to the window and looked out, only to see, instead of Dr. Moon walking away from the house, there was a woman in a black Victorian dress passing by with a black veil over her face.

"You alright?" Lee asked walking over to her.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, it's just..."

"Just?"

"Nothing," she hugged him, "It's been a long day, that's all. I'm just tired."

~8~

Donna was now in the bedroom in pajamas with Lee, "You ok?" he asked her.

"I said I was tired, and..." she began, confused as to how they'd gotten into the bedroom so suddenly, before remembering, "And we put the kids to bed, and we watched television..." she shook her head about to get into bed...

When there was a noise from the front door.

"Was that a letter?" she frowned, straightening.

"It's midnight."

"Go and see what it is?"

Lee left the room as Donna went to look out the window, seeing the same woman in the black dress.

"'The world is wrong,'" Lee said.

"What?" she turned back to him to see him holding a letter in his hand.

"For you. Weird, though. 'Dear Donna, the world is wrong. Meet me at your usual playpark, two o'clock tomorrow.'"

Donna took the letter and frowned at it, it was so...vague. Sounded a bit like a prophecy it did, but that was nonsense, prophecies and psychics.

She moved back to the window, watching the woman walk away, "Nutter."

~8~

Charlotte watched, scared, "Don't go," she murmured to herself, "Please don't go."

~8~

Donna arrived in the playpark with her children, spotting the woman in black sitting on a bench, her face veiled, "Alright, you two, off you go, no fighting," she ushered her children off before walking over to the woman and sitting down beside her, "I got your note last night. 'The world is wrong,' what's that mean?"

"No, you didn't," the woman replied.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You didn't get my note last night. You got it a few seconds ago. Having decided to come, you suddenly found yourself arriving. That is how time progresses here, in the manner of a dream. You've suspected that before, haven't you, Donna Noble?"

"How do you know me?" she tensed.

"We met before, in the Library. You were kind to me. I hope now to return that kindness."

"Your voice...I recognize it."

"Yes, you do. I am what is left of Miss Evangelista."

Donna blinked, remembering that name, that woman, some woman in white, in a library. She'd been made fun of and she couldn't stand to see others treating the woman like that, not after having been put down most of her life...till Angel had shown her such kindness, had made her want to show others that same kindness...

Wait...who was Angel again? She was with that Doctor man wasn't she? Who were they?

She shook her head, no, that was a dream. That was all just a dream...

~8~

The group ran through an outer passage that connected two tall buildings, when the Doctor stopped, "Professor, go ahead, find a safe spot, take Angel with you."

"It's a carnivorous swarm in a suit, you can't reason with it," River shouted.

"You _can't_ …" Angel began, panting a bit, feeling like she couldn't catch her breath, and it had nothing to do with her lungs failing, but the Doctor about to put himself in danger, without her or Donna there to help him.

He just nudged her towards the explorers, "Five minutes," he promised, her giving her a quick peck, and another, "I need to know you're safe," he told her, stroking her cheek, before looking at River, "I'm _trusting_ you with her."

River tensed, her jaw tight, before nodding grimly, "Other Dave, stay with him, pull him out when he's too stupid to live. _Two_ minutes, Doctor."

And with that she, Anita, Lux, and Angel ran off as Proper Dave arrived at the corridor behind them.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

The Doctor turned and stepped closer to it, "You hear that? Those words? That is the _very last thought_ of the man who wore that suit before you climbed inside it and stripped his flesh. That's a man's soul trapped inside a neural relay, going round and round forever. Now, if you don't have the decency to let him go, how about this? Use him. Talk to me. It's easy, neural relay. Just point and think. Use him, talk to me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhh...River still knows the Doctor's name. Oh boy :( Could it possibly mean that she really doesn't know Angel in the future? She knows OF Angel at the very least...maybe...the Doctor lives on and is close to her but...Angel's memory is still there? I could see anyone being bitter about having to compete with the memory of a dead person...actually...we may just get more of a hint about River's feelings in the next chapter ;)
> 
> Poor Doctor, so confused. He just can't reconcile the idea that he would still be there in the future without Angel. I bet if he could, he wouldn't be as confused. I suppose we'll have to wait and see what exactly happens }:)
> 
> As for Donna, I had promised a while ago that the Turn Left episode would have so many references to Angel and the Doctor with Donna around that it would almost be like they were still there. We're going to see hints of what I meant by that in these three chapters, little things that pop up that show just how much of an impact he and Angel have had on Donna :) I'll be tweaking little things about her parallel world, like the names of her children and other things to help with that :)


	34. Forest of the Dead: A Gasp

"Hey!" Proper Dave's suit called as he staggered closer to the Doctor, "Who turned out the lights?"

"The Vashta Nerada live on all the worlds in this system, but you hunt in forests," the Doctor continued, "What are you doing in a _library_?"

"We should go," Other Dave muttered, looking around, his gaze turning to the shadows on the ground surrounding Proper Dave, knowing they could strike at any moment, "Doctor!"

"In a minute," he called back, waving off the other man as he faced Proper Dave, "You came to the Library to hunt, why? Just tell me why?"

"We...did...not," Proper Dave began, strained.

"Oh, hello," the Doctor grinned, pleased he could now communicate with the Vashta Nerada. If he could communicate, he could maybe get through to them, negotiate something, get them to leave the others, leave Angel, alone.

"We...did not."

"Take it easy, you'll get the hang of it. Did not what?"

"We...did not...come here."

"Well, of course you did," he frowned, shaking his head, "Of course you came here."

"We come _from_ here," the Vashta Nerada corrected.

"From here?" he stared at the spacesuit a moment, that made...no sense at all.

"We hatched here."

"But you hatch from trees, from _spores_ in _trees_."

"These are our forests."

"You're nowhere near a forest, look around you," he opened his arms, gesturing around at the shelves that surrounded them.

"These are our forests."

"You're not in a forest, you're in a _library_. There are no trees in a..." and then it dawned on him, "Library."

"We should go," Other Dave called, "Doctor!"

"Books," the Doctor nodded, getting it now, "You came in the books. Microspores in a million million books."

"We should go. Doctor!"

"Oh, look at that," he turned to look at the bookshelves, ignoring Other Dave for the moment, far more interested in the mystery unfolding before him, NOW it made sense, "The forests of the Vashta Nerada, pulped and printed and bound. A million million books, hatching shadows."

"We should go. Doctor!"

The Doctor glanced back at Other Dave, just realizing that the man had been repeating himself for quite a while now, "Oh Dave! Oh, Dave, I'm so sorry," the lights of Other Dave's relay blinked as the helmet held a skull behind it, both the Daves closing in on him on either side.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"We should go. Doctor!"

"Thing about me," he started backing up, glancing back and forth between the two Daves as they staggered towards him, jerking, still not quite used to small movements, "I'm stupid, I talk too much, always babbling on, this gob doesn't stop for anything…well, it stops for Angel. Blimey, that woman can kiss…" he started to smile, thinking of her, of her kisses, of how he could never satisfy himself with just kissing her once, needing to kiss her two or three...or many more...times before he could stand to pull himself away from her. He swore on his hearts that her kisses were addictive, they always left him wanting more.

He'd been telling the complete and total truth when he'd been John Smith, the human, he truly _could_ spend the rest of his life (lives) kissing Angel.

He suddenly jumped back, startled out of his rather pleasant thoughts by one of the Daves swiping at him, "But never mind that," he continued, moving back further, "Wanna know the only reason I'm still alive? Besides my Mate?" he grinned, "Always stay near the door!" he pointed the sonic at the floor, opening up a trapdoor and disappearing down it.

The Daves looked down, only to see they were hundreds of floors above ground and the Doctor was gone. They looked up at each other a moment before they turned and walked off.

The Doctor hung under the trapdoor, climbing under the corridor as he clung to metal structures, the sonic in his mouth.

~8~

Charlotte beamed as she saw the Doctor climbing, still alive, just fine, and clicked the remote, checking on Donna.

~8~

"I suggested we meet here because a playground is the easiest place to see it, to see the lie," Evangelista was telling Donna as the two women continued to sit on the bench in the small playground.

"What lie?" Donna frowned.

"The children, look at the children."

Donna pursed her lips at the woman bringing up her children and changed the topic, "Why do you wear that veil? If I had a face like yours, I wouldn't hide it."

"You remember my face, then? The memories are all still there, the Library, the Doctor, the Angel, me. You've just been programmed not to look."

"Sorry, but...you're dead."

She _was_ dead wasn't she? She tried to remember, strained to do it, she remembered a library, a dark room, a skeleton in white...and someone hugging her. A ginger woman hugging her...and felt a tug at her heart. The woman beside her was dead, and the woman who had hugged her was dying...right? But...who was that woman? The Angel? Was it her?

She couldn't remember.

"In a way, we're all dead here, Donna," Evangelista sighed, "We are the dead of the Library."

"Well, what about the children?" Donna tensed, "The children aren't dead. _My_ children aren't _dead_!"

"Your children were never alive," Evangelista said simply.

"Don't you say that!" Donna shouted, "Don't you _dare_ say that about my children!"

"Look at your children," she gestured to the children, "Look at all of them, really _look_ ," they turned to see a group of children playing around the playground, all looking identical to Donna's, all of them, the same little girl and boy, in the same clothes, the exact same girl and boy, "They're not real. Do you see it now? They're all the same. All the children of this world, the same boy and the same girl, over and over again."

"Stop it!" Donna cried, "Just stop it! Why are you doing this? Why are you wearing that veil?" she pulled off the veil to reveal a terribly contorted face, barely recognizable.

Donna and the children screamed in horror.

~8~

Charlotte screamed and hid her face in the pillow beside her, that was _not_ the same pretty woman she'd seen in the Library!

~8~

Lux glanced over at Angel who was sitting on the floor a few feet away, having collapsed there really, taking quite a few deep breaths, trying to get her breath back but seeming to struggle to do so. He frowned as she clutched at her chest with one hand, seeming as though any moment now she might start to choke, holding onto the desk beside her with her other hand, trying not to fall to the floor completely. He actually found himself...wanting...to go check on her, to see if she was ok. She was...pale, and shaking, and sweating a bit, and her eyes were filling with tears and fear as she just couldn't seem to breathe. He was...worried for her, but Professor Song had ordered them all about as soon as they'd reached the room to try and make it somewhat safe...and he valued his safety and his life more than anyone elses.

River glanced at her as well, before getting right back to her work, sonicing the shadows, "You know..." she murmured, "It's funny, I keep wishing the Doctor was here."

"The Doctor _is_ here, isn't he?" Anita turned to her, alarmed, from where she too had been glancing back at Angel, the woman had been so kind to her, listening when she had first spoken about her shadows, not brushing her off, "He's coming back, right?"

"You know when you see a photograph of someone you know, but it's from years before you knew them? It's like they're not quite...finished, they're not done yet. Well...yes, the Doctor's here. He came when I called, just like he _always_ does," she glanced at Angel, frowning a bit when she saw the woman wasn't paying much attention to anything she was saying, before she returned to speaking to Anita, "But not _my_ Doctor. Now my Doctor..." she smiled in memory, "I've seen whole armies turn and run away. And he'd just swagger off back to his TARDIS and open the doors with a snap of his fingers. The Doctor...in the TARDIS...next stop: everywhere."

"Spoilers!" the Doctor called, dashing into the room, "Nobody can open a TARDIS by snapping their fingers. It doesn't work like that."

"It does for the Doctor."

"I _am_ the Doctor," he glared as rushed right past her, not even giving her a second glance, and knelt before Angel as she started gasping.

"Yeah," River huffed, "Someday."

He shook his head and turned back to Angel, who had tears in her eyes as she struggled to breathe, actually seeming scared by how little oxygen she was able to get to her lungs, "Angel…" he whispered, feeling tears in his own eyes to see her struggling so, taking her head in his hands, "Breathe, slowly…" he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, trying to calm her, "That's it, one deep breath at a time, with me," he inhaled deeply, holding her gaze as she slowly did the same, "I'm here. I'm alright. See?" he smiled at her as she slowly started to get her breath back and felt his hearts restart.

That had been _far_ too close.

He looked back at River, feeling Angel shaking in his arms, "What happened?" he demanded of her, a hard look in his eyes.

He'd trusted the woman with Angel, trusted her to keep her safe and protected, and, yes, she was setting up a safe area, but he doubted, from how she'd reacted and treated Angel so far, that it was for her. It was probably for her crew and Angel was just 'lucky enough' to be in the middle of her crew at the moment. He _never_ should have left his Mate alone with that woman. He didn't trust her at all, despite her seeming to know his name.

He knew that telling anyone his name was a matter of trust, you told your Mate your name as the symbolic first step to Mating, letting them know that you trusted them that much with your mind, with your hearts, with your entire being, starting with trusting them with your name. But River? He shook his head, HER knowing his name did _nothing_ for him in terms of trust, all it really did was make him even more wary and suspicious of her.

And he swore, on all the stars in the sky, if SHE had something to do with Angel's current state...he'd kill her.

Angel reached out and put her hand on his, making him look back at her as she shook her head subtly. Whether to let him know it wasn't River's fault or to silently ask him not to murder the human, he didn't know. But really, both would be just like her too. And that made him smile. Angel would sooner take the blame on herself than let him be angry at someone else, even if said person deserved it. And she wouldn't ever ask him to kill someone, not ever, she'd stop him. She didn't like death, no matter whose, aliens, enemies, humans, all of them...to her, life was SO sacred that the thought of it being extinguished...snuffed out like a light...well that was just so her wasn't it?

He gently stroked her cheek, ' _Are you ok?_ ' he asked her, squeezing her hand.

She nodded, ' _Better,_ ' she reached out and touched his cheek, stroking it with her thumb as he had done to her only moments ago, ' _I always breathe better when you're with me._ '

He beamed at that, pleased, he could tell she was doing better now that he was there, breathing easier, but he could still sense a strain in her. When he'd first scanned her with the sonic, outside the UNIT lorry-base, the results...her body was shutting down, failing, starting with her lungs. It seemed like all the running they'd done in such a short time had exacerbated that, strained her poor lungs too much and they had rebelled against her. It was her body's way of telling her she'd done too much, that it...that it couldn't handle running like that much longer, if at all.

And that...was very bad.

"Nothing," River rolled her eyes at him, answering the question he'd forgotten he'd asked when he'd looked into Angel's 'hot-chocolate with golden sprinkles' eyes, "We ran in and she started panting."

"What's wrong with her?" Lux asked, eyeing the woman.

The Doctor swallowed hard, just looking at Angel as she slowly breathed in and out, "She's dying."

" _What_?!" River gasped as she spun around to face him.

"Yeah," he nodded, pulling out a small handkerchief and wiping a thin layer of sweat off the girl's brow, tucking a lock of hair behind her ears when he saw her lifting a shaking hand to do the same.

"Well what's wrong with that?" River shook her head, starting to frown, not sure why he was getting so worked up, "She can regenerate."

"We're not sure if she will…" the Doctor swallowed, gaining a little more from River, the woman at least knew Angel was a Time Lady. They just...didn't know how, whether she knew Angel in the future...or knew of her, if...if HE'D told her about Angel at one point.

He shook his head quickly at that idea that River was someone close to him and he'd told her, his 'future Mate' (not that she could really be his Mate, she wasn't a Time Lady...and he DIDN'T want another Mate besides Angel), about Angel, his past Mate. But that idea was absurd, Angel was and would be his ONLY Mate.

"What do you mean?" River's eyes widened, actually sounding _shocked_ by that news.

He was silent, he didn't want to answer, he didn't want to even think about the possibility of losing her, "Are you alright?" he asked her, out loud this time as she finally started breathing normally.

She squeezed her eyes shut a moment, rubbing her chest, now that she could process the fact she was breathing again, she could feel just how much her chest hurt, "No…" she admitted, giving a small cough, "But we can't worry about me now…" she opened her eyes, "Other people may have less time than me."

The Doctor frowned, he would _always_ worry about her, no matter what, her first and foremost.

' _Anita,_ ' she reminded him quietly, ' _Please Theta,_ ' she looked at him, ' _Don't let your worry about me keep you from helping HER. Please._ '

He smiled softly at that, at her concern for others, kissing her forehead and got up to turn to Anita, not noticing River watching them closely, a small frown on her face, but this time not one of anger or resentment, but of true...shock and even...a bit of concern, "How are you doing?" he asked Anita.

"Where's Other Dave?" River swallowed, looking back up at the Doctor, pulling her gaze away from Angel.

"Not coming, sorry."

"Well, if they've taken him, why haven't they gotten me yet?" Anita couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know," the Doctor admitted, looking down to see Anita with two shadows, "Maybe tinting your visor's making a difference."

"It's making a difference alright. No one's ever going to see my face again."

"Is there anything I can get you Anita?" Angel offered, pushing herself up and walking over to them weakly, the Doctor quickly wrapping an arm around her waist, knowing an attack like that must have taken quite a bit out of her. She looked it too, there was a...weariness in her eyes, a tiredness, that hadn't been there before he'd sent her off with River.

"An old age would be nice. Anything you can do?"

"I'll try my best," Angel nodded, both of them sharing an understanding.

"Doctor..." Anita turned to him a bit, "When we first met you, you didn't trust professor Song, neither of you did. And then she whispered a word in your ear, and you did," she seemed to wince, "Well, YOU did," she turned to Angel a moment before looking back at the Doctor, "My life so far...I could do with a word like that. What did she say?" she sighed when he remained quiet, "Give a dead girl a break. Your secrets are safe with me."

"Safe..." the Doctor frowned.

"What?"

"Safe. You don't say saved, nobody says saved, you say _safe_. The data fragment!" he spun to River and Lux, pulling a bit of a 'River' and focusing on Lux instead, "What did it say?"

"'4,022 people saved. No survivors,'" Lux repeated.

"Doctor?" River looked at him but he just turned back to Angel, exuberant.

"Nobody says _saved_!" he grinned at Angel even as she looked at him, confused, "Nutters say saved, you say _safe_. But you see, it didn't mean safe, it meant...it literally meant... _saved_!"

She blinked and her eyes widened, working it out, "Oh my God!"

~8~

"What happened to your face?" Donna breathed, staring at Evangelista.

"Transcription errors," she replied, shrugging, sighing, "Destroyed my face, did wonders for my intellect. I'm a very poor copy of myself."

"Where are we? Why are the children all the same?"

"The same pattern over and over. It saves an awful lot of space."

"Space?"

"Cyberspace."

~8~

"No!" Charlotte cried at Evangelista, scared, "Don't tell, you _mustn't_ tell!"

~8~

"See, there it is, right there!" the Doctor shouted from a terminal, "A hundred years ago, massive power surge, all the teleports going at once. Soon as the Vashta Nerada hit their hatching cycle, they attack. Someone hits the alarm, the computer tries to teleport everyone out."

"It tried to teleport 4,022 people?" River gaped.

" _Succeeded_ , pulled 'em all out, but then what? Nowhere to send them, nowhere safe in the whole Library, Vashta Nerada growing in every shadow. 4,022 people all beamed up and nowhere to go. They're stuck in the system, waiting to be sent, like emails. So what's a computer to do? What does a computer always do?"

"It _saved_ them," Angel smiled, reaching out to touch the terminal, stroking it a bit, much like she would the TARDIS, "Oh well done," she whispered to the computer, speaking to it just like she would the TARDIS, as though it could understand her, "You're such a clever girl aren't you?"

The Doctor laughed at that, Angel always had that ability, making him smile and laugh despite the danger, "The Library, a whole world of books, and right at the core, the biggest hard drive in history. The index to everything ever written, backup copies of every single book. The computer saved 4,022 people the only way a computer can. It saved them to the hard drive."

~8~

"Your physical self is stored in the Library as an energy signature," Evangelista explained calmly to Donna, "It can be actualized again whenever you or the Library requires."

"The Library?" Donna frowned, "If my face ends up on one of those statues..."

"You remember the statues?"

"Wait, no," she frowned, scrunching her face a moment as she struggled to remember, "Just...hang on. So...this isn't the real me? This isn't my real body. But I've been dieting!" she huffed, how was THAT fair?!

"What you see around you, this entire world is nothing more than virtual reality."

"So why do you look like that?"

"I had no choice. You teleported. You're a perfect reproduction. I was just a data ghost caught in the Wi-Fi and automatically uploaded."

"And it made you clever?" she guessed, trying to follow along. Evangelista, for being so smart now and having been a bit...dim...before wasn't very good at explaining things in a way she could understand. Not like Angel...

Oh. My. God. Angel! And the Doctor! They were real! They were trapped in the Library at that very moment! She had to help them!

"We're only strings of numbers in here," Evangelista continued, "I think a decimal point may have shifted in my IQ. But my face has been the bigger advantage. I have the two qualities you require to see absolute truth. I am brilliant...and unloved."

"That's NOT what you need to see the absolute truth," Donna frowned at her, Angel...she was just like that, she could look at things and see them for what they were. Not even the psychic paper could fool that girl and she was sure, had Angle been feeling better, she would have been able to pick out the Vespiform right off the bat too. Angel could see the truth, and Angel was the most beautiful, clever, lovable girl in the Universe. And now, she was alone, well, with the Doctor, but alone in the Library with that River Song woman and she needed her sister. And Donna Noble was NOT about to abandon her.

She looked at Evangelista, hoping that there might be some way to get out of that world, "If this is all a dream...whose dream is it?"

"It's hard to see everything in the data core," Evangelista seemed to frown, "Even for me, but there is a word. Just one word. CAL."

~8~

Charlotte watched Donna and Evangelista, in tears, taking the remote and pushing a key.

~8~

"Mummy!" Angela cried, "My knee!"

Donna looked over, feeling an odd feeling rush through her, like she'd first felt when she'd begun to see Lee, like she was forgetting and remembering things. She shook her head and quickly made her way over to her daughter on the ground, "Oh, oh look at that knee! Oh, look at that silly old knee!" she hugged Angela to her.

"She's not real," Evangelista reminded her, sensing what had happened, the program had gotten to the ginger again, made her forget, made her not want to believe what she was hearing, "They're fictions. I'm sorry, but now that you understand that, you won't be able to keep a hold. They are sustained only by your belief."

"You don't know," Donna glared back at her, clutching her children close, "You don't have children!"

"Neither do you," Evangelista countered as Donna took her children's hands and turned to go, "Donna, for your own sake, let them go!"

~8~

"Stop it!" Charlotte yelled at the telly, at Evangelista, "You'll spoil everything! I hate you, you're going to ruin _everything_! Stop it!"

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" her father asked, walking in from the kitchen, worried for her.

"Shut up!" she shouted, pushing a key on the remote...

And her father disappeared.

Her eyes widened in horror at that as she gasped, "Daddy! No! Daddy!" she threw the remote to the ground, backing away from it, scared, so, _so_ scared...

~8~

An alarm went off in the Library.

"What is it?" Lux turned, trying to see what had set it off, "What's wrong?"

"Autodestruct enabled in 20 minutes," a computer stated.

~8~

Donna and her children walked away from the playground quickly, "Mummy, what did the lady mean?" Angela looked up at her, "Are we not real? Where are we going?"

"Home!" Donna shouted.

~8~

Suddenly Donna was standing in the sitting room of their home, the lights now red, an alarm in the distance.

"That was quick, wasn't it, mummy?" Angela smiled up at her.

"Mummy, what's wrong with the sky?" her son, John, asked, looking out the window, terrified to see a red sky.

~8~

"What's maximum erasure?" River read off the terminal.

"20 minutes, this planet's gonna crack like an egg," the Doctor said grimly, gripping Angel's hand tightly.

"No!" Lux shouted, "No, it's alright, the doctor moon will stop it. It's programmed to protect CAL."

~8~

Charlotte laid, crying on the floor of her sitting room, as Dr. Moon appeared and knelt beside her, reaching out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Now, you really must stop this, you know," he told her gently, "You've forgotten again. It was _you_ who saved all those people, haven't you? And then, you remembered..."

"Shut up, Dr. Moon!" she shouted, grabbing the remote as it lay only inches away from her and pushed a button, disappearing him as well, just like her father.

She gasped and curled up in a little ball, now she really was truly alone...

~8~

The terminal's monitor shut off.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor's eyes widened.

"All Library systems are permanently offline," the computer stated, "Sorry for any inconvenience. Shortly..."

"We need to stop this, we've got to save CAL!" Lux shouted.

"Mr. Lux," Angel turned to him, pulling the Doctor's attention away from the monitor and to her, like it always was whenever she spoke, "What is CAL?" he'd said it quite a bit in such a short time and he seemed truly worried about whatever it was.

Lux tensed a moment, hesitating.

"We can help," Angel promised, "The Doctor, he's brilliant," she smiled at him, making him smile back at her softly for the praise, "HE can save CAL, but we need to know what it is."

Lux sighed, "We need to get to the main computer, I'll show you."

"It's at the core of the planet," the Doctor looked around for a way to get there.

"Well, then," River smirked, sonicing a symbol on the floor and opening it up, letting a light blast up at them, "Let's go! Gravity platform!"

They all stepped onto the platform of light and it started to descend.

~8~

Donna sat on the sofa, holding her children tightly, shaking, not wanting to let go of them, not wanting to lose them. They were her children!

"Mummy, you're hurting my hand," John murmured.

"You just...you just stay where I can see you," Donna told them, in tears, "Right, you...you don't get out of my sight."

"Is it bedtime?" Angela asked.

~8~

The children were in bed as Donna sat before them with a book, appearing to have just read them a bedtime story, "Ok. That was lovely, wasn't it?" she smiled at them, forcing herself to remember how she'd taken the children upstairs after a lovely evening and put them to bed, how it HADN'T been only seconds between Angela asking her and them being there, if she remembered it detailed enough...then it was real, "That was a lovely bedtime. We had warm milk, and we watched cartoons, and then mummy read you a lovely bedtime story."

"Mummy, John and me, we're not real, are we?" Angela asked her sadly.

"Of course you're real," she insisted, "You're as real as anything. Why d'you say that?"

"But, mummy," John spoke, "Sometimes, when you're not here, it's like... _we're_ not here."

"Even when you close your eyes, we just stop," Angela added.

"Well, mummy promises to never close her eyes again," she said, about to cross her left...and right side of her chest...before she realized what she was about to do, what she remembered seeing that Doctor and Angel people do as well, and stopped herself.

But when she looked at the beds, the children were gone.

"No!" she screamed, rushing to the beds, trying to find the children, "Please! No, please! No! No, no! NO!"

~8~

"Autodestruct in 15 minutes."

"The data core!" the Doctor muttered, "4,000 living minds, trapped inside it."

"Yeah, well they won't be living much longer, we're running out of time," River agreed, hearing the autodestruct warning over the speakers.

~8~

Charlotte laid on the floor in tears, "Help me. Please help me. Please, please help me!"

~8~

They stepped off the gravity platform and into a control room, the crew and the Doctor about to rush in one direction when Angel stepped in another.

"Angel!" the Doctor called, holding out his hand to her for her to go with them.

"Can you hear her?" Angel breathed, frowning.

"Hear what?" River asked, as they stopped, they really didn't have the time to be doing this.

"The little girl," Angel turned to them, "It's...it sounds like Charlotte."

As they quieted and listened, they gasped, they COULD vaguely hear someone, a little girl, calling out, "Help me. Please, help me."

"What's that?" the Doctor frowned.

"Was that Charlotte?" River looked around, trying to spot the little girl, it really DID sound an awful lot like the girl they'd seen on the monitor.

The Doctor turned and ran to a monitor, to a terminal, trying to see if they could find the girl, but frowned, pushing a few buttons, trying to bring up the programs, "Computer's in sleep mode...I can't wake it up. I'm trying."

~8~

Toys turned on and off as objects few around Charlotte's home making her cry all the more.

She really was truly and deeply scared...the shadows...they were everywhere...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone get a tear when Angel couldn't breathe? I know I did :'( It really kills me to write her like that :(
> 
> Next chapter though...there will be a line that the Doctor says that finally gives River the wake up call she needs :) I hope the fact that River seemed shocked about Angel's dying brought up more questions. Why is she shocked? Did the Doctor tell her about his 'past Mate' but not what happened to her? Or is there something more going on? Hmm...I guess we'll find out in the next chapter }:)


	35. Forest of the Dead: A Tear

"Doctor, these readings!" River looked at the readings, joining him at the terminal, trying her own hand at getting the computer to wake up.

"I know, you'd think it was...dreaming," the Doctor agreed.

"It _is_ dreaming...of a normal life, and a lovely dad, and of every book ever written," Lux sighed.

"Computers don't dream," Anita argued.

"Help me. Please help me."

"No," Lux nodded, "But little girls do," he moved to the side of the room and pushed a lever down, a door opening before them, leading to another room. They ran in, only to stop short, seeing a Node there, like the ones scattered throughout the Library. It turned its top portion, its head, to reveal a little girl, Charlotte's face.

"Please help me," she begged them, "Please help me."

"Oh, my God!" River gaped.

"It's the little girl," Angel frowned, "The girl we saw in the computer."

"Charlotte?" Angel shook her head and looked at Lux for explanation, even the Doctor seemed confused as to what was going on.

"She's not _in_ the computer," Lux corrected gently, "In a way, she _is_ the computer. The main command node. This is CAL."

"CAL is a _child_!" the Doctor stared, "A child hooked up to a mainframe? Why didn't you tell me this? I needed to know this!"

"Because she's family!"

Angel frowned, "CAL...the C...that's Charlotte isn't it?"

Lux nodded, "Charlotte Abigail Lux, CAL. My grandfather's youngest daughter. She was dying, so he built her a library, and put her living mind inside, with a moon to watch over her, and all of human history to pass the time, any era to live in, any book to read. She loved books, more than anything. He gave her them all. He asked only that she be left in peace. A secret, not a freak show."

"So you weren't protecting a patent," Angel realized, "You were protecting _her_."

"This is only half a life, of course. But it's forever."

"And then the shadows came," the Doctor said solemnly.

"Shadows," the Node of Charlotte cried, sounding scared, sounding like she was in pain, struggling to do something but weakening, "I have to...I have to save. Have to save..."

"And she saved them. She saved everyone in the Library, folded them into her dreams and kept them safe."

"Then why didn't she tell us?" Anita countered.

"I don't think she can remember she did it," Angel guessed, "There are about 4,000 living minds stuck in her head, taking up space...she..." she frowned, "She doesn't have enough memory left, does she?" she looked at the Doctor.

"No, she doesn't," he said grimly.

"So what do we do?" River got back to point.

"Autodestruct in ten minutes," the speakers reminded them.

"Easy!" the Doctor cried, "But…first things first," he turned to Angel, a solemn look in his eyes, "I'm so sorry," he whispered to her, taking her face in his hands, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs as he rested his fingertips to her temples. He closed his eyes a moment, resting his forehead to hers...before she collapsed into his arms, unconscious, him catching her before she could fall. He gently laid her down on the floor, brushing his knuckles against her cheek, moving his hand to tuck a lock of hair behind her ears, just...taking a moment to gaze at her before determination set in and he jumped up, rushing to a terminal, "We beam all the people out of the data core, the computer will reset and stop the countdown," he frowned, "Difficult, Angel was right, Charlotte doesn't have enough memory space left to make the transfer," before he smiled again, "Easy! I'll hook myself up to the computer and she can borrow my memory space!"

"Difficult!" River countered, growing alarmed with his mood swings, she'd known him a very, _very_ long time, knew him very well, and she'd never seen him like this...seen him with this sort of...desperation and drive motivating him, "It'll kill you stone dead!"

"Yeah, it's easy to criticize," he muttered, not really paying attention to her.

"It'll burn out both your hearts and don't think you'll regenerate!"

"I'll try my hardest not to die. Honestly, it's my main thing."

River froze.

He was _lying_!

Rule 1, the Doctor lied, all the time. But...she could TELL he was, right then...he was _lying_. He wasn't going to try at all. And that worried her. What was wrong with him? Why was he so willing...so...determined to die? It made no sense! He did so much in the future, had such a will to live, what had changed? Why would he be so willing to die now? She just...couldn't understand what could make him feel that way.

"Doctor!" she shouted.

"I'm right and this works!" he turned to shoot her a glare, "Now shut up professor Song," she flinched at the formal use of her name, "Now listen, you and Luxy-boy, back up to the main Library. Prime any data cells you can find for maximum download, and before you say anything else, professor, can I just mention in passing as your air, _shut up_!"

River glared at him for how he kept telling her to shut up, "I hate you sometimes!"

"I don't care!" he snapped, getting back to his work, disregarding her entirely.

"Mr. Lux, with me!" River huffed, storming off, "Anita, if he dies, I'll kill him!"

River and Lux ran out, leaving the Doctor to work frantically as Anita watched him, "What about the Vashta Nerada?"

"These are their forests," he muttered, "I'm gonna seal Charlotte inside her little world, take everybody else away. The shadows can swarm to their hearts' content."

"So you think they're just gonna let us go?"

"Best offer they're gonna get."

"You're gonna make 'em an offer?"

"They'd better take it, 'cos right now, I'm finding it very hard to make any kind of offer at all. You know what..." he turned to her, a hard expression on his face, "I really liked Anita. She was brave, even when she was crying, even when she was afraid and dying and she never gave in. Just like my Mate, she fought and she stayed brave, just like Angel. And you ate her," he soniced her visor to reveal the skeleton beneath, Anita was gone, eaten by the Vashta Nerada, quite a long time ago really, "But I'm gonna let that pass. Just as long as you let them pass."

"How long have you known?" the suit stiffened.

"I counted the shadows," he nearly spat, "You only have one now," he eyed the blinking relay, "She's nearly gone. Be kind."

"These are our forests," the Vashta Nerada hissed, "We are _not_ kind."

"I'm giving you _back_ your forests, but you are giving me them. You are letting them go."

"These are our forests," the Vashta Nerada growled, sending out shadows towards the Doctor, "They are our meat."

"Don't play games with me!" he turned to glare, "You just killed someone I liked, that is _not_ a safe place to stand. And don't even _think_ of going anywhere near Angel!" he added, seeing the shadows reaching for her as well, "I'm _the Doctor_ and you're in the biggest library in the Universe. Look me up."

The shadows paused a moment before withdrawing, seeming to have done just that, "You have one day."

And then the suit collapsed.

"Anita!" River gasped as she ran back in to see the pile of bones and cloth.

"I'm sorry, she's been dead a while now," the Doctor muttered, "I told you to go!"

"Lux can manage without me. But _you_ can't."

"I DON'T need YOU professor Song," he looked at her, showing her the truth in his eyes, making her flinch, making her breath hitch at the words.

He really _didn't_ need her, did he?

As though reading her thoughts, he continued, "The _only_ one I need, the only one I will EVER need, is that girl right there," he pointed to Angel, "My _Mate_ , my Angel. Not you," he stared at her long and hard, "I'm sorry professor Song, but it will _never_ be _you_."

And with that, he turned back to the terminal.

River swallowed hard, despite his words, despite how they hurt to hear, she _couldn't_ let him do this, "Doctor this _will_ kill you!"

He didn't even look up as he continued working, "Angel's _dying_ ," he said, his voice thick with sorrow and a coldness that spoke of fierce determination, a dark note to his voice that spoke of a promise to come, a promise he would see through to the end, "She's going to die, and I'd rather die _with_ her than live without her, not for _anyone_ ," he turned to spit that last word out at her, glaring at her.

River blinked, tears in her eyes at his words. It was a slap in the face. She realized that. She knew that he knew, or at least suspected, her intentions with him, the subtle hints of the future she was trying to give him. Trying, and failing, because that man was the most stubborn man in the Universe, human, alien, or otherwise, but he was also the most dedicated, loyal man ever. He was the most loving but that love...

This was the final blow.

This was what she needed to hear to realize just _how much_ the man truly did love Angel.

This was what she needed to hear to realize how much he could _never_ love another.

And how foolish she had been to hope.

"Then this is for her," she nodded, walking over to him and punching him across the face, knocking him out.

~8~

River sat on a large chair, fiddling with wires, the Doctor and Angel handcuffed to a pillar a bit further away, the man slowly regaining consciousness. River watched him carefully as he woke, watched as his eyes _immediately_ sought Angel out, the _first_ thing he did...making sure she was alright. Making sure Angel was alright, never mind her, never mind that she'd punched him and could be doing anything, never mind himself even for having been punched, no, it was Angel.

It was always Angel wasn't it?

Angel blinked blearily, her mind allowing her to wake up as the Doctor's had been knocked out and unable to maintain keeping hers asleep, to the feel of someone touching her face, checking on her. Her eyes opened and she saw the Doctor gazing at her, concerned.

"What happened?" she breathed, reaching out to touch his cheek, seeing a red mark on it from where River had punched him.

The Doctor leaned in, pressing her hand to his cheek, not just the coolness of it relieving the pain in it, but the touch alone spreading a warmth through him. He closed his eyes savoring the feel...

Not even feeling River's eyes, filled with sadness and longing, watching the moment from her chair, reality was a terrible thing to see wasn't it?

"Doctor..." Angel gasped, spotting River over his shoulder, "What's she doing?!"

River nearly laughed bitterly at that, leave it to _Angel_ to spot her first, leave it to the ginger girl to worry and be concerned for _her_ even after the way she'd treated her.

"Autodestruct in two minutes," the speakers warned as the Doctor turned around to see what had alarmed Angel.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, come on, what are you doing?" he shouted as he saw River sitting there, feeling just a bit guilty that he'd forgotten she was even there, forgotten that she'd knocked him out, "That's _my_ job!"

"Oh, and I'm not allowed to have a career, I suppose?" she asked, though there was an...empty quality in her voice. Where it might have been teasing and 'spoilery' it was just...resigned.

"Why are we handcuffed?" the Doctor looked over to see his hand in one end of the cuff, wrapped around a beam to Angel's in the other end in a way that neither of them would be able to easily unwrap it and free themselves, "Why do you even _have_ handcuffs?"

"Spoilers," she replied, though even that was missing the usually flirty tone they'd both come to associate with the woman.

"This is not a joke, stop this now, this is gonna kill you!"

"I'm timing it for the end of the countdown, there'll be a blip in the command flow. That way it should improve our chances of a clean download."

"River! Please! No!"

"Funny thing is," River paused to look at them, at the Doctor, "This means you've _always_ known how I was going to die. All the time we've been together, you knew I was coming here. The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean, you turned up on my doorstep, with a new haircut and a suit," she swallowed hard, closing her eyes a moment as though debating something, as though seeming upset with herself for having to debate it, "And Angel," she added, opening her eyes to look at them, tears in them, making Angel's own eyes widened at her admission, "You took me to Darillium to see the Singing Towers. Oh, what a night that was! The towers sang, but you both looked so sad."

"Autodestruct in one minute," the speakers called.

"I… _I_ was there?" Angel asked, swallowing hard, scarcely daring to hope...

River took a breath, "Time can be rewritten…I don't know if you will be…I _honestly_ don't," she looked them in the eyes so they could see the _truth_ in them, "You never said _anything_ about an illness before," Angel nodded and looked down, clearly the Angel River knew had _never_ been ill or dying, "You wouldn't tell me why, at Darillium, but I suppose you knew...it was time. My time. Time to come to the Library. You even gave me your screwdriver," she gave a watery laugh, "That should've been a clue," they looked over to where both screwdrivers were lying on top of River's diary.

The Doctor tried to reach them but they were too far away.

"There's nothing you can do," River whispered, but they heard her.

"You can let _me_ do this!" the Doctor shouted, "You can let me save them! Save everyone..."

River stared at him a moment, tears in her eyes when his gaze drifted to Angel, "You really would _die_ for her wouldn't you?" she breathed, looking at Angel, knowing that the 'everyone' was really only Angel, "You love her _that_ much..."

"Of _course_ I love her!" the Doctor glared, momentarily forgetting what they were shouting about, "I love her more than _anything_."

"Or anyone," River nodded to herself, speaking more to herself than them, with the air of someone seeming to be accepting something they had been fighting hard not to. She closed her eyes and shook her head, "If you die here, it'll mean I've never met you."

"Like you said, time can be rewritten."

"Not those times," she glared, her eyes snapping open, "Not one line! Don't you dare! Because I would rather die here and live through it all than never meet you," Angel blinked, realizing what she'd been trying, in the back of her mind, to will wrong, River most certainly loved the Doctor, "But it's ok," she nodded, "It's ok, it's not over for you. You'll see me again. You've got all of that to come," she turned to Angel, smiling sadly, "And Angel…" she blinked back tears, "If you make it…I just want you to know I'm so, _so_ sorry, for everything. I never realized…" she swallowed hard, glancing between her and the Doctor.

She'd never realized _how much_ they loved each other.

She knew of the Mating process, of course she did, but she'd always thought when one died the other _had to_ regardless of whether they _wanted_ to or not…she _never_ thought the Doctor would _choose_ to die to be with her, that he loved her _that much_ …

"Sorry for what?" Angel shook her head, not understanding, not sure if River was talking about something she had done in the future or just for how she'd treated her in the Library. River had made it seem like she was gone, made it seem like River was close to the Doctor and...she had to be, didn't she? She _knew_ his _name_!

"You'll find out."

"River, you know my name," the Doctor said, seeming to share the same thoughts and fears.

"Autodestruct in ten..." the computers began to count down.

"You whispered my name in my ear."

"...nine, eight, seven..."

"There's only _one reason_ we would ever _tell_ anyone my name," he glanced at Angel, "There's only one time I _could_..."

"Hush, now!" she smiled secretly, "Spoilers..."

"...three, two, one..."

River plugged two cables together and a white light blinded them.

~8~

Donna sat on the stairs of her home, when Lee arrived, "Donna?" he rushed to her, seeing her upset, his heart breaking at the sight of seeing his wife so sad, "What's happening?"

"I don't know, but it's not real!" she cried, gripping him as he held her, letting her sob into his chest, "Nothing here is real. The whole world, everything, none of it's real."

"Am I real?"

"Of course you're real, I _know_ you're real," she nodded...when a white light engulfed them, "Oh, God, oh, God, I hope you're real..." he started to drift away from her despite her trying to hold on, disappearing in the light, "I'll find you! I promise you, I'll find you!"

~8~

Mr. Lux stood in the reception area, working on a terminal when a man suddenly asked, "Excuse me…" he looked up, startled, "What happened? How did we get here?"

"Look at you, you're back!" Lux gasped, looking around at the room _full_ of people, 4,022 if he had to guess, well, 4,023 if you counted that ginger woman, "You're all back!" he ran around, hugging people, which earned him quite a few odd looks, "He did it! You're all back. Look at you!" he laughed with delight before turning to walk outside, looking at the planet, "Look at that! Oh look at that, he did it! 4,022 people! Saved!"

~8~

The Doctor and Angel sat in the room, still handcuffed, Angel leaning against the Doctor as they looked sadly at the seat River Song had just sat in. Despite how she'd acted, her spoilers and innuendo, how she'd treated Angel...she HAD saved all those people who had been trapped.

Angel snuggled more into him, tears in her eyes, River...she'd saved the Doctor as well.

And for that, she decided, if River had been talking about something she would do in the future...she'd forgive her for whatever that might be, for whatever River might have done/would do to her in the future, if she still _had_ that future.

No matter what, she'd forgive her.

~8~

Donna walked through the crowd in the little shop of the Library, and over towards the Doctor and Angel, "Please be patient," the teleporter was instructing, "Only three can teleport at a time. Do not state your intended destination until you arrive in..."

"Did you find him?" Angel looked at her, but Donna shook her head, "I'm sorry Donna," she reached out to put a hand on Donna's arm, "I wish I could help."

Donna smiled at her, patting her hand for that. As soon as she had found them, handcuffed, and used the Doctor's sonic thingy to get them free, she'd told them about Lee. Angel had tried to sense the man for her, tried so hard, to the point where even the Doctor could feel her headache and made her stop.

"There wasn't even anyone called Lee in the Library that day," Donna reassured her, "Suppose he could have had a different name out here, but let's be honest, he wasn't real, was he?"

"He might have been," Angel tried to reassure her as well.

"Nah," Donna shook her head, sighing, "I made up the perfect man. Gorgeous, adores me, and hardly able to speak a word. What's that say about me?"

"Everything," the Doctor mumbled, distracted as he tried to figure out who River Song was to him and to Angel and how he could have told River his name while Angel was still there and how the Angel River knew hadn't been ill but HIS Angel was and... _then_ he realized what he'd said, "Sorry, did I say 'everything?' I meant to say 'nothing.' I was aiming for 'nothing,' I accidentally said 'everything.'"

"Stand right in the middle of the teleport, please," another round of readers made their ways onto the teleports, "Keep your hands and feet inside at all times."

"What about you?" Donna looked at them.

"And remember to switch off your mobile comm. unit."

"Are you alright?"

"We're always alright," Angel's smile fell, clearing her throat as it went hoarse a moment.

"Is 'alright' special Time Lord code for...'really not alright at all?'"

"Why?" the Doctor looked at her.

"'Cos I'm 'alright,' too," she said.

"Come here," Angel turned to her and hugged her tightly, the Doctor watching on with a small smile.

"Come on," he nodded to the side as Angel took Donna's hand following him as he led them away.

Just as they rounded a corner, Lee stepped onto the middle of the teleport, spotting Donna but unable to call out with his stutter in time.

~8~

The Doctor put River's diary on the ledge they'd stood at before as Angel hesitated putting the sonic on top.

"That woman..." Donna started carefully, "Professor Song...she knew you in the future, but...I don't think she knew me. What happens to me?" she turned to Angel, "Because when she heard my name, the way she looked at me..."

Angel frowned, "I can't sense you anymore," she said sadly, "I didn't even realize you hadn't arrived in the TARDIS. I'm so sorry Donna. I don't know."

She smiled, "Not your fault," she put her arm around the woman in comfort, she knew it had been Angel's largest fear to be unable to sense her or the Doctor, to keep them safe, it must be killing the girl for it to be starting to happen.

"This is her diary," the Doctor looked down at the book, "Our future. I could look you up. What do you think? Shall we peek at the end?"

"No," Angel shook her head.

She...didn't want to know. She knew that...some version of her, an alternate version perhaps, was in River's future. But she didn't want to read about a girl who wasn't her, a healthy her who survived. The...the worse she got, the more she felt and feared that...she wouldn't make it. And she didn't want to see reminders or hopes of a future she might not have.

"Spoilers, right?" Donna asked.

"Right," he nodded. They looked at each other and turned to leave, when Angel looked down at the sonic, still in her hand, "Come on. The next chapter's this way."

~8~

_"When you run with the Doctor, it feels like it will never end," River said, "But however hard you try, you can't run for ever. Everybody knows that everybody dies, and nobody knows it like the Doctor. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark, if he ever, for one moment accepts it."_

~8~

"Doctor…" Angel called, making him turn back. She simply held out the sonic to him, she may not be able to sense much anymore, but this was the _Doctor_ 's sonic…there was something telling her there was more to it than they could see, just like him.

"Why?" he muttered as he took it from her, something sparking in him, "Why would I give _her_ my screwdriver? Why would I do that? Thing is, future me had years to think about it, all those years to think of a way to save her," and he knew he would, because, that version of him, had had Angel with him, and Angel would have wanted him to do all he could to save the woman, and, he supposed, the woman had saved Angel as well by doing what she'd done, so he could try to save her as well, "And what he did was give her a screwdriver. Why would I do that?" he popped open a part of it to reveal a relay blinking, "Oh! Oh! Oh, look at that! I'm very good!"

"What have you done?" Donna called.

"He saved her," Angel smiled, putting a hand on his arm, "Go."

He looked at her a moment before nodding and running across the Library trying to reach the computer core before it was too late, "Stay with me! You can do it, stay with me! Come on, you and me, one last run! Sorry, River, shortcut!" he used the sonic to disable the gravity platform and jumped down.

~8~

_"Everybody knows that everybody dies. That everything, all things, must die...but not every day."_

~8~

The Doctor ran across the room and lunged, plugging the screwdriver into the computer and smiled at CAL.

~8~

_"Not today."_

~8~

River appeared in the virtual world in front of the hospital where Dr. Moon and Charlotte were standing, "It's ok," Charlotte told her, "You're safe. You'll always be safe here. The Doctor fixed the data core. This is a _good_ place now. But I was worried you might be lonely. So I brought you some friends. Aren't I a clever girl?" she smiled, that ginger girl was right, she was VERY clever.

"Aren't we all?" Evangelista called.

River spun around to see Evangelista, the Daves, and Anita walking towards her, all wearing lovely white clothes, alive, in a way, once more "Oh, for heaven's sake!" she shook her head, "He just can't do it, can he? That man, that impossible man! He just can't give in," she ran over and hugged them all.

~8~

_"Some days are special. Some days are so, SO blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. Especially when the Angel's there."_

~8~

The Doctor walked back to the TARDIS, stopping and snapping his fingers as the doors opened. He smiled and walked in to where Donna and Angel were standing by the console. He stepped beside Angel, putting an arm around her waist before turning to the doors and snapping his fingers again, watching as they closed.

~8~

_"Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair, and the Doctor comes to call...everybody lives."_

~8~

River closed the TARDIS-book and gave a goodnight kiss to Charlotte as she laid in a third bed in the room with Angela and John, "Sweet dreams, everyone," she breathed, switching off the lights.

~8~

"You don't have to do that," the Doctor said as he watched Angel work on something on the console as he sat in the captain's chair, "You should go rest."

Donna had gone to bed ages ago but Angel had stayed back, he'd stayed with her, almost knowing what was coming despite not being psychic, and wanting to be there for her, keep her from wearing herself out.

"I won't be able to sleep," she murmured, "And besides…I'm rather useless now, this is all I can do."

He stood up and walked over to her, taking a small cutting device she'd been using for the wires from her hand and setting it down, taking her cold hands and turning her to face him, "You _aren't_ useless."

"I can't sense anything anymore," Angel said, tears coming to her eyes, "I couldn't save _any_ of them and I _should_ have. I should have sensed Evangelista walking away, Donna getting trapped…but I _didn't_. I…I could barely sense _you_ when Dave wanted to attack. That was the only thing I was any use for, sensing problems and stopping them before they happen, and I can't anymore…" he pulled her to him as she started crying, holding her tightly. She sniffled as he held her, "The only thing I can do besides that is fix TARDISes," she swallowed, "Not like River..."

The Doctor pulled back sharply and grabbed her shoulders gently but firmly, looking her dead in the eye, "It doesn't matter at all who River MIGHT be. Not to me. YOU are my Mate Angel, YOU. And I'm not _ever_ going to find another one. And I don't need to be a precog to know that."

"But we can't even finish the process. You could always…"

"No," he cut in, not even wanting to entertain that thought, "YOU are my Mate. My ONLY Mate. EVER. I don't want another one. I won't, no matter what. Because I LOVE you and _only_ you, forever," he leaned forward and kissed her deeply, pouring all his feelings and promises into it, leaving no doubt in her mind at all that what he promised was real, "We'll find a way to make sure you regenerate," he promised her as well, pulling her into a hug, "Remember, two Time Lords are better than one. You've saved so many people, let me save you."

She nodded into his shoulder, breathing in his scent as he held her.

"Thank you," she murmured into his arm.

"For what?" he asked, absently rubbing soothing circles into her back.

"Being so calm," she snuggled into him, making him smile though she couldn't see it, "I know you were upset with River and..."

"And how she treated you like you were dirt?" he cut in, a faint growl in his voice, his arms tightening around her, only making her smile a bit at how he got so defensive of her.

"How she was a bit rude at times," she countered.

He let out a breath and rested his head on her chin, leave it to her to not make it as bad as it really was, just so he wouldn't get angry all over again. He squeezed her, "I know you get upset when I shout at people, and I know your head was hurting you more than you were letting on. I didn't..." he swallowed, " _I_ didn't want to be a cause for making you feel worse. Shouting and getting all worked up and irritated would have upset you and the shouting wouldn't have helped your head," he dropped a kiss onto it for good measure, "I won't do anything to hurt you Nella. Not ever."

She smiled, touched he'd been so calm, even when she knew he was bursting inside, for her sake, "I know," she whispered, just...letting him hold her, she felt safe, she always felt safe, because she knew it was true, the Doctor would never ever hurt her, he'd never let anything hurt her either.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww, Doctor! :') He is just SO sweet! And how about that, River DID know Angel, Angel WAS there in the future, but like I said, according to River, that Angel was never sick and she IS sick now. Time being rewritten? Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey eh? }:) BUT! SO MANY more questions right? Why wouldn't River have told them Angel was there in the future? Why was she acting so cold to Angel? If Angel was somehow there...how does the Doctor tell River his name? Why would he...or, why did he? Makes no sense does it? Well...I know... }:)


	36. Midnight: Knock Knock

Gentle music played in the center of a glistening, luxurious room. There was a sparkling pool, a large, domed, glass ceiling through which shining sunlight could filter in, making the whole room just...beautiful, so relaxing and peaceful and bright...

This was where Donna had situated herself, sunbathing by a pool, mountains of diamonds shining in the distance, easily seen through the glass at the top of the room, reaching into the sky. A butler brought her a ringing phone, setting it down for her to answer, smiling at him in thanks as she reached out to pick it up...

Before huffing, "I said, _no_!"

~8~

The Doctor and Angel stood by a public phone a few feet away from a small shuttle, "Sapphire waterfall," the Doctor tried, "It's a waterfall made of _sapphires_! This enormous jewel, size of a glacier, reaches the Cliffs of Oblivion, and then shatters into sapphires at the edge, they fall 100,000 feet into a crystal ravine."

"I bet you say that to all the girls," Donna laughed.

"Nope, only Angel," he winked over at Angel as she stood beside him, her arms wrapped around his one arm, leaning on him just a bit.

"Please Donna," Angel called into the phone, the Doctor's smile tensing at the tone of it.

Her voice had started to get a bit raspy when they'd been in the Library, but it...it had gotten worse lately. She sounded as though her throat were dry but no matter if she drank water...which she really didn't as much as he would have liked given that she just...didn't seem to be thirsty...it remained that way, it was...it was really worrying him. It was one thing when she looked a bit ill, but now she was starting to sound it too and he knew she didn't like that, she didn't like others knowing she was dying, she didn't like worrying them.

Angel winced, hearing that note in her voice and cleared it, trying again, "They're about to board," before wincing, it hadn't helped, if anything it had made her voice worse.

"Four hours, that's all it takes," the Doctor had to add, trying to pull Angel's thoughts away from her voice. He'd noticed that as well, there were times where she would do her best to block the thoughts of her health and block how she felt from him, but it was getting harder and harder for her to maintain for long periods. Things had started to slip through but even then, he knew, it wasn't half of what she was really feeling.

"No, that's four hours there and four hours back, it's like a school trip," Donna remarked, "I'd rather go sunbathing."

"You be careful, that's Xtonic sunlight."

"Oh, I'm safe. It says in the brochure this glass is fifteen feet thick."

"Alright, I give up," the Doctor sighed.

"We should be back in time for dinner," Angel told her, squeezing the Doctor's arm, "I...I think I might want some soup later."

He smiled at that, beamed was more like it. He knew she was going to force herself to eat, for him, despite how twisted her stomach felt. He'd seen her face, at times, when she ate, she looked queasy and like she was about to be ill. She had managed to keep the food down so far, thankfully, but...they both knew that it was only a matter of time before she wouldn't be able to. So, for now, he tried to get her to eat as much as she could, and to hear her possibly wanting to eat later...that meant the world to him.

"We'll try that anti-gravity restaurant," he tapped her nose, "With bibs."

"That's a date," Donna replied, "Well, not a date. Well, for you two maybe. Oh, you know what I mean. Oh get off!"

Angel laughed, "We'll see you later Donna."

"Oi! You be careful, alright?"

"Nah," the Doctor waved her off, "Taking a big space truck with a bunch of strangers across a diamond planet called Midnight, what could possibly go wrong?"

~8~

The Doctor and Angel sat on the shuttle, near the front, just watching passengers board. Their hostess, a lovely black woman, turned to an older blonde woman across from them, "Complimentary juice pack and complimentary..."

"Just the headphones, please," the woman shook her head.

"There you go," the hostess nodded, handing the requested item over, and continued on to the Doctor and Angel, handing them things, "That's the headphones for Channels 1 to 36, modem link for 3D vidgames, complimentary earplugs, complimentary slippers, complimentary juice pack, and complimentary peanuts. I must warn you some products may contain nuts."

"That'll be the peanuts," the Doctor smiled.

"Enjoy your trip."

"Oh, we can't wait!" the Doctor took Angel's hand in both of his, rubbing it a bit to warm it, "Allons-y!"

"I'm sorry?" the hostess turned back to him.

"It's French," Angel replied, knowing that one at least, "'Let's go!'"

"Fascinating," the hostess moved on to the people in the row behind them, an older man with glasses and his young, black assistant, "Headphones for channels 1-36..."

"Oh no, thank you, not for us!" the man waved the hostess off.

"Earplugs, please," his assistant asked.

"There you go," she handed over the requested items.

"They _call_ it a sapphire waterfall, but it's no such thing, sapphire's an aluminum oxide," the man rattled on, making Angel smile, he sounded very much like the Doctor, "But the glacier is just a compound silica with iron pigmentation!"

The Doctor and Angel looked over the top of the seat to see the hostess move on to a blonde woman, her dark-haired husband, and their gothic-dressed son in the back, "...complimentary juice pack and complimentary peanuts."

"Thank you," the woman nodded.

"Have you got that pillow for my neck?" the man behind them turned to his assistant.

"Yes, sir."

"And the pills?"

"Yes, all measured out for you, there you go."

"Hobbes!" the man introduced, shaking the Doctor's hand when he saw them looking at them, "Professor Winfold Hobbes!"

"I'm the Doctor, hello!" he grinned.

"And I'm Angel," Angel shook the girl's hand.

"My Mate," the Doctor put an arm around her shoulders.

"It's my 14th time!" Hobbes cheered.

"Oh!" Angel turned to him, "This is our first go."

"And I'm Dee Dee, Dee Dee Blasco," Dee Dee shook the Doctor's hand.

"Now don't bother them!" Hobbes sat back, "Where's my water bottle?"

"...complimentary slippers, complimentary juice pack, and complimentary peanuts, I must warn you some products may contain nuts," the hostess continued to the young, gothic boy who was sitting away from his parents.

"Don't be silly, come and sit with us," his mother called, "Look! We get slippers!"

"Jethro!" his father frowned, "Do what your mother says."

"I'm sitting _here_ ," Jethro replied.

"Oh, he's _ashamed_ of us," his father remarked as they turned back, "But he doesn't mind us paying, does he?"

"Oh, don't you two start," his wife hushed, "Should I save the juice pack or have it now? Look, peach and Clementine!"

The hostess walked to the front of the shuttle, the Doctor and Angel turning around. He placed his arm around her, allowing her to lean her weary form on him. This was the reason he'd first thought of Midnight, it was a leisure palace, something Angel really needed. She tried to hide it and for the most part she could, but he could see her. She'd been exhausted, she wasn't sleeping, she wasn't eating…he just wanted her to rest and try to feel just a bit more refreshed. He knew it wouldn't last long, and that she might not feel all that relaxed regardless. He scanned her every week to check her progress, see if there wasn't some sort of cocktail or something he could make that would help her…but nothing worked. It had gotten to the point where she had asked him to stop, she didn't like the drugs and the medicines, she didn't like...she didn't like seeing his hopeful expression falter when the results came back the same, always the same...she was getting worse. All her organs were starting to shut down, slowly, but they were affecting her terribly. What had started with the ATMOS, her lungs, was spreading everywhere, her stomach, her kidneys, even her hearts...they were just...getting weaker.

It seemed that her mind was still strong, thankfully, though the headaches _were_ getting worse. When they reached unbearable levels he would know she was nearing the end. On the _Valiant_ she had barely been able to turn her head just that small movement setting off a throbbing, stabbing pain in her mind. She was still able to walk for the moment, though she needed him to lean on him or Donna from time to time. She was just so weak…it broke his hearts to see her try and keep on a brave face, knowing what was coming, living through it all _twice_.

But, at least, he could take comfort in the fact that she seemed happier this time. She wasn't miserable, she wasn't being shoved around or locked up, she was with people who cared about her and would take care of her. She really was free this time, to see the Universe, to do as she pleased, and she was living every moment she could. And that was all he wanted, to make her happy, as happy as she could possibly be despite the circumstances and even because of them.

"Ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon," the hostess began, drawing his attention away from his Mate, "Welcome onboard the Crusader 50, if you would fasten your seatbelts, we'll be leaving any moment. Doors!" the doors sealed automatically, "Shields down!" the shields descended over the windows, "I'm afraid the view is shielded until we reach the Waterfall Palace. Also, a reminder, Midnight has no air, so please don't touch the exterior door seals. Fire exit at the rear, and should we need to use it...you first," she gave a laugh, "Now I will hand you over to Driver Joe."

"Driver Joe at the wheel!" a male voice came over the intercom, "There's been a diamondfall at the Winter Witch Canyon, so we'll be taking a slight detour, as you'll see on the map," a map blinked on on a screen, showing them the path, "The journey covers 500 kliks to the Multifaceted Coast, duration is estimated at four hours. Thank you for travelling with us, and as they used to say in the olden days, wagons roll!"

The engines accelerated as the shuttle took off.

"For your entertainment, we have the Music Channel playing retrovids of Earth Classics," the hostess pushed a button on a control and a screen appeared in front of each passenger showing Raffaello Cara singing 'Do it, Do it again,' "Also, the latest artistic installation from Ludovico Klein," a hologram show started, "Plus, for the youngsters, a rare treat, the Animation Archives," old black and white cartoons began to play over a projector, "Four hours of funtime! Enjoy!"

Everything went on simultaneously, creating a terrible screeching mess that only the couple in the back was enjoying. Angel winced, pulling away from the Doctor to try and cover her ears, feeling a headache approaching. The Doctor quickly pulled out the sonic and stopped it all, seeing that. It had been the first day in SO long that she hadn't had a splitting headache but a tiny throb and now...she didn't need this.

"Well, that's a mercy!" Hobbes muttered.

"I do apologize, ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon," the hostess frowned, tapping the controls but still everything stayed silent, "We seem to had a failure of the Entertainment System..."

"Ooh," the Doctor mocked a sad face, putting his arm around Angel again as she rested her head on his shoulder, frowning and tired, the headache was back.

"But what do we do?!" the blonde woman in the back shook her head.

"We've got _four hours_ of this!" her husband added, "Four hours of just...sitting here?"

"Tell you what!" the Doctor turned around in his seat, "We'll have to talk to each other instead!" the passengers just stared at him. He winked at them and fell back into his seat, turning to Angel, "Why don't you try and get some sleep?" he lifted up the armrest between their seats to connect them, giving her a space to lie down.

She shook her head, "I tried before we decided to come to Midnight," she told him, "I just…can't…" he smiled at her sadly, "But, it's always nice to meet new people," she gave him a small smile, tired though it obviously was, there she was, trying to find the good in the bad, and took his hand, squeezing it as they stood and started making introductions.

~8~

98 kliks later…

Everyone was laughing and having a great time, listening to Val and Biff, the couple in the back, retelling stories, save Sky, who preferred sitting in the front and reading her book. Jethro though looked rather embarrassed by his parents, "So Biff said, 'I'm going swimming,'" Val said.

"Oh, I was all ready, trunks and everything!" Biff agreed, "Nose plug!"

"He had this little nose plug, you should've seen him."

"And I went marching up to the lifeguard, and he was a Shamboni, you know, those big foreheads?"

"Great big forehead!"

"And I said, where's the pool? And he said..."

"'The pool is abstract!'" Val and Biff said at once, while Angel saw Jethro mouth the words along with them.

"It wasn't a _real_ pool!" Val smiled.

"It was a _concept_!" Biff chuckled.

"And you wore a nose plug!" the Doctor grinned.

"I was like this!" he pinched his nose, "Mmm...where's the pool?"

Everyone burst out laughing again.

~8~

150 kliks later…

The Doctor, Angel, and Dee Dee were in the galley, "I'm just a second-year student, but I wrote a paper on the Lost Moon of Poosh," Dee Dee explained, handing a cup of tea to Angel who thanked her, actually feeling thirsty for once, taking a sip quickly as the cup was rather full and...her hands were shaking a bit, "Professor Hobbes read it, liked it, took me on as a researcher. Just for the holidays," she handed the Doctor a cup as well, "Well, _I_ say researcher, most of the time he's got me fetching and carrying. But it's all good experience!" and a cup for herself.

"And did they ever find it?" the Doctor wondered.

"Find what?"

"The Lost Moon of Poosh!"

"Oh no!" she shook her head, laughing, "Not yet!"

"Well, maybe YOU'LL find it," Angel smiled at her, "One day."

The Doctor nodded, "Here's to Poosh!" he lifted his cup, the three of them toasting.

"Poosh!" Dee Dee grinned.

~8~

209 kliks later…

The Doctor sat beside Sky, Angel sitting on the floor, leaning back against his legs, resting her head on his knees, as he absently stroked her hair, talking to the woman, "No, no, we're with this friend of ours, Donna, she stayed behind in the Leisure Palace," the Doctor explained, "You?"

"No, it's just me," Sky gave a sad smile.

"Oh, I've done plenty of that. Travelling on my own. I love it, but not as much as I love travelling with Angel. She lets me do what I want…most of the time! Go anywhere though!"

Angel smiled at that.

"No, I'm still getting used to it. I've...found myself single rather recently, not by choice."

"What happened?" Angel asked quietly, putting a hand on the woman's hand as it sat on her lap.

"Oh, the usual," she sighed, squeezing Angel's hand a moment in thanks for her offered comfort, "She needed her own space, as they say. A different galaxy, in fact. I reckon that's enough space, don't you?"

"A bit," she nodded, "Our friend once went to an entirely different Universe."

"Oh, what's this?" Sky looked at the food in the tray before her, not wanting to talk about it any longer, "Chicken or beef?"

"I think it's both," the Doctor remarked, eyeing it.

Angel grimaced, and there went her appetite.

~8~

251 kliks later…

Angel was laying curled up on the seats her and the Doctor had been sitting in before, the lights dimmed as Hobbes gave a presentation with slides of all his research to the passengers, more like a lecture than anything else. The Doctor smiled as he watched her _finally_ seem to be able to sleep. Honestly, he _should_ have thought about this earlier, she'd often talked, when they would discuss the Academy, of how dreadfully boring she found it all, save classes about the theories and actualities of time and space, and history. Oh she'd loved those classes far more than the sciences or maths or literatures or any other subject the Academy had to offer, and it made sense now, her innate talent with the TARDISes, her connection to them, she just...understood time and space in a way he doubted he ever would, despite all his travels through it. But still, he should have known that as soon as Hobbes started lecturing she'd fall right to sleep. Perhaps he'd experiment a bit with lecturing her when they got back to the TARDIS see if he couldn't help her fall asleep as well, maybe go on and on about the most boring topic he could think of, watching paint dry or grass grow or...time passing slowly and in the right order. It might work, according to her even when he gobbed on about tech in a manner she couldn't follow, she just loved the sound of his voice, it soothed her.

"So, this is Midnight, d'you see?" Hobbes continued, "Bombarded by the sun! Xtonic rays, raw galvanic radiation. Dee Dee, next slide!" she quickly did so, "It's my pet project. Actually, I'm the first person to research this. Because you see...the history is fascinating, because there _is no_ history. There's no life in this entire system, there couldn't be. Before the Leisure Palace Company moved in, no one had come here in all eternity. No living thing."

"But how d'you know?" Jethro looked at him, "I mean, if no one can go outside..."

"Oh, his imagination!" Val scoffed, "Here we go!"

"He's got a point, though," the Doctor remarked.

"Exactly!" Hobbes cried, "We look upon this world through glass. Safe inside our metal box. Even the Leisure Palace was lowered down from orbit. And here we are now, crossing Midnight, but never touching it."

A rattling noise echoed suddenly, right before the engines stilled, everything going quiet, making the Doctor tense, he'd come to associate dead silence with very bad things, and _Angel_ was right there...

"We've stopped..." Val stiffened, "Have we stopped?"

"Are we there?" Biff looked around.

"We can't be, it's too soon," Dee Dee answered.

"They don't stop, Crusader vehicles _never_ stop," Hobbes frowned.

"If you could just...return to your seats, it's...just a small delay," the hostess called, just as confused as the passengers as she walked over to the intercom.

"Maybe just a pit stop," Biff guessed.

"What's going on?" the hostess hissed into the intercom on the wall beside the cockpit door.

"There's no pit to stop in, I've been on this expedition 14 times, they _never_ stop," Hobbes said.

"Well evidently, we _have_ stopped, so there's no point in denying it," Sky glared at him.

"We've broken down!" Jethro smirked.

"Thanks, Jethro," Val rolled her eyes.

"In the middle of nowhere!" he added in a dramatic voice, clearly trying to frighten his mother, get a rise out of her.

"That's enough, now stop it!" Biff rounded on him.

"Ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon, we're just experiencing a short...delay," the hostess announced, "The driver needs to stabilize the engine feeds. It's perfectly routine, so if you could just stay in your seats..." the Doctor walked towards the drivers' cabin, "No, I'm sorry sir, I...could you please..."

"There you go, engine expert!" he held up the psychic paper, not about to let anyone stop him from seeing what was going on. The shuttle had stopped, they were stranded, and _his Mate_ was there, he was not taking any chances at all this time, "Two ticks!" he opened the door and entered the cockpit.

"Sorry sir, if you could just sit down! You're not supposed to be in there..."

But the doors already shut.

"Sorry, if you could return to your seat, sir..." Driver Joe glanced back at him.

"Company insurance, let's see if we can get an early assessment," the Doctor waved him off, "So, what's the problem, Driver Joe?"

"We're stabilizing the engine feeds, won't take long."

"Um, no, 'cos _that's_ the engine feed, that light there," he nodded to it, "And it's fine, and it's a micropetrol engine, so stabilizing doesn't really make sense, does it? Sorry! I'm the Doctor, I'm very clever. So, what's wrong?"

"We just stopped, look, all systems fine and everything's working, but we're...not moving," the other man with Driver Joe explained.

"Yeah you're right," the Doctor scanned the controls with the sonic, "No faults. And who are you?"

"Claude, I'm the mechanic. Trainee."

"Nice to meet you," he chuckled a bit under his breath, thinking of Angel, she would have loved to meet the men, he knew it, but he wanted to let her sleep as long as possible.

"I've sent a distress signal," Joe told him, "They should dispatch a rescue truck, top speed."

"How long till they get here?"

"About an hour."

"Well, since we're waiting...shall we take a look outside? Just...lift the screens a bit?"

"It's 100 percent Xtonic out there, we'd be vaporized."

"No, those windows are Finitoglass, they'd give you a couple of minutes. Go on! Live a little!" Joe hesitated a moment before giving in and raised the shields, they looked out at the yellow glistening landscape in awe, "Oh, that is _beautiful_...mind you, not the _most_ beautiful thing I've ever seen, that'd be my Mate, Angel."

"Look at all those diamonds!" Claude stared, "Poisoned by the sun. No one can ever touch them."

"Joe, you said we took a detour?"

"Just about 40 kliks to the west," Joe replied.

"Is that a recognized path?"

"No, it's a new one, the computer worked it out, on automatic."

"So we're the first? This piece of ground. No one's ever been here before. Not in the whole of recorded history."

...which also meant no one had ever travelled through it safely before either. He was starting to think Angel had rubbed off on him, he was NOT getting a good feeling about this. Not at all...

"Did you just..." Claude frowned, "No, sorry, it's...nothing."

"What did you see?" he looked at the man.

"Just there. That ridge. Like...like a shadow. Just…just for a second."

"What sort of shadow?" he tensed, the last time there had been a shadow, well, things hadn't exactly gone very well.

An alarm sounded.

"Xtonic rising!" Joe called, lowering the shield, "Shields down."

"Look, look, there it is, there it is, look, there!" Claude pointed a finger.

"Where?!" the Doctor tried to see before the shields fell completely, but just missed it, "What was it?"

"Like, just, something...shifting, something sort of...dark. Like it was...running."

"Running which way?" the Doctor closed his eyes, _knowing_ he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Towards us..."

"Right, Doctor, back to your seat and not a word, rescue's on its way," Joe waved the Doctor back, "If you could close the door, thank you."

The Doctor turned and walked back into the passenger's cabin, "What did they say?" Sky looked up at him immediately, "Did they tell you? What is it, what's wrong?"

"Oh, just stabilizing, happens all the time," the Doctor waved her off.

"I don't _need_ this! I'm on a _schedule_. This is _completely_ unnecessary!"

"Back to your seats, thank you," the hostess smiled, going to the cockpit as the Doctor returned to his seat, just crouching down beside it really, and stroking Angel's face softly as she slept through the commotion, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, smiling softly as she unconsciously nuzzled into his hand, trying to ignore how warm it felt despite how cold the rest of her was.

"Excuse me, Doctor," Dee Dee peeked around the side of the chair, whispering so as not to awaken Angel or alarm the others, "But they're micropetrol engines, aren't they?"

"Now, don't bother the man," Hobbes complained.

"My father was a mechanic. Micropetrol doesn't stabilize, what does 'stabilize' mean?"

"Well," the Doctor shrugged, "Bit of flim-flam. Don't worry, they're sorting it out."

"So it's not the engines?" Hobbes frowned.

"It's just a little pause, that's all."

Hobbes gasped, "How much air have we got?!"

"Professor, it's _fine_ ," Dee Dee turned to him.

"What did he say?" Val looked over, alarmed, of course she WOULD hear the bit about the air.

"Nothing!" the Doctor hissed.

"Are we running out of air?"

"I was just speculating..." Hobbes began, wincing as he realized jumping to that conclusion was probably a mistake, as the hostess returned from the cockpit.

"Is that right, miss?" Biff turned to her, "Are we running out of air?"

"Is that what the captain said?" Val asked.

"If you could all just remain calm..." the hostess tried to speak.

"How much air have we got?!"

"Mum, just stop it," Jethro muttered, rolling his eyes at how frantic and overreactive his mother was being.

"I assure you, everything is under control," the hostess reassured them.

"Well, doesn't look like it to me!" Biff snapped.

"Well, _he_ said it," Val pointed at Hobbes.

"…it's fine, the air is on a circular filter..." Dee Dee tried to explain, but Val and Biff were too panicked and loud.

"...he started it!"

And then everyone started talking at once, panicked.

"Everyone..." the Doctor began quietly, glancing at Angel to see if she was still sleeping, which she was, thankfully, but then everyone started shouting, "Shh, shh, shh..." Angel frowned in her sleep, seeming about to wake up, "QUIET!" he shouted.

Everyone fell silent.

He waited a moment, looking down at Angel as the frown went away and she fell back asleep. He sighed in relief, he did NOT want her to have to wake up to that, to scared humans and a stranded shuttle, vainly hoping she might sleep through the next hour in peace, if he could calm the humans down at least. So he turned to the rest of them, "Thank you. Now, if you'd care to listen to my good friend Dee Dee..." he gestured it over to her.

"Oh!" Dee Dee looked up, surprised at being given the chance to talk, before standing, "Um...it's just that...well, the air's on a circular filter so...we could stay breathing for ten years."

"There you go! And I've spoken to the captain, I can guarantee you, everything's fine."

...and then two loud thuds hit the wall of the shuttle.

"What was that?" Val asked, a fearful note to her voice.

"It must be the metal," Hobbes suggested, "We're cooling down, it's just settling..."

"Rocks," Dee Dee guessed, "Could be rocks falling."

"What I want to know is, how long do we have to sit here," Biff demanded.

The double thud repeated, on a different wall.

The Doctor tensing, oh this was very, _very_ not good, because those thuds weren't any of those things...they were knocks, someone or something was knocking on the shuttle from the outside, and the only thing he knew was out there...was that shadow Claude had seen.

"What _is_ that?" Sky breathed.

"Is someone out there?" Val asked.

"Now, don't be ridiculous!" Hobbes scoffed.

"Like I said, it could be rocks," Dee Dee shrugged.

"We're out in the open," the hostess shook her head, "Nothing could fall against the _sides_."

And again, two thuds on the wall.

"Knock knock," the Doctor said.

"Who is there?" Jethro answered with a grin.

"Is there something out there?" Sky swallowed, "Well? Anyone?"

And the thudding _again_.

"What the hell is making that noise?!"

"I'm sorry," Hobbes spoke up, "But the light out there is Xtonic, that means it would destroy any living thing, in a split second. It is impossible for someone to be outside."

Two more thuds.

"Well, what the hell is _that_ , then?!"

The Doctor walked over to the wall, where the last two thuds were heard, and placed his stethoscope to it, listening.

"Sir!" the hostess exclaimed, "You really should get back to your seat."

"Hello?" the Doctor called.

Two thuds sounded behind him instead, near the fire exit at the rear.

"It's moving..." Jethro said as they all looked back at the door.

The door shook, rattling, as though someone were trying to get in.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Angel :( But at least she's getting a little bit of sleep though right? :) I know I've had Evy and the Professor go with the Doctor in the shuttle, but I couldn't picture Angel leaving him alone, her whole thing is, with her dying and possibly not coming back, to spend as much time as she can with him :) And, given his luck, he WOULD end up in trouble in a shuttle with strangers so I couldn't see any of the Time Ladies just leaving him alone. Though, I will say, one Time Lady in my head might just leave him to his own devices and stick with Donna ;)
> 
> But ooh...we're getting to the dangerous part now aren't we? I hope everything turns out alright for the Doctor and Angel :(


	37. Midnight: Hysteria

"It's trying the door!" Val cried, staring at the back door in horror as the rattling got worse.

"There is no 'it,' there's nothing out there," Hobbes argued, "Can't be."

The door rattled again, one more fierce time, before the thuds sounded from the roof, as though whatever it was was walking across the top. It fell silent just a moment, before...the side door rattled as well, "That's the entrance. Can it get in?"

"No, that door's on two hundred weight of hydraulics," Dee Dee replied, her eyes locked on the door.

"Stop it," Hobbes turned to her, exasperated, "Don't encourage them."

"What do _you_ think it is?" she turned to Hobbes, thinking him the most clever man in the room.

Well, she didn't know the Doctor did she?

Biff slowly headed for the door, "Biff, don't..." Val warned.

"Mr. Cane, better not..." the Doctor called, tensing even more as he realized the thing outside was smart. It clearly knew how to work a door if it was able to rattle the handle like that, if it knew enough to know THAT was the way in. And anything smart enough to know how to open a door worried him, especially since Angel was sleeping beside him on the chairs. God he really, _really_ hoped she slept through this.

He didn't know if it was all the time around Angel, that maybe he was more sensitive to things, or if it was just his own paranoia brought on by her fading health but...he couldn't help but feel like something terrible would happen if that thing got in and Angel was awake.

"Nah, it's cast iron, that door..." Biff nodded, knocking on it three times to prove its fortitude.

And then three thuds repeated.

"Three times!" Val cried, pointing at the door, looking around at them all, "Did you hear that, it did it three times?!"

"It answered!" Jethro's eyes widened, now actually starting to get a bit serious.

"It did it three times!"

"Alright, alright, alright, everyone, calm down," the Doctor tried to get their attention.

"No, but it answered, it... _answered_ , don't tell me that thing's not alive, it answered him!" Sky shouted.

Three thuds.

"I really must insist, you get back to your seats!" the hostess tried to take control of the situation, seeing her passengers starting to panic, well, most of them anyway, that Doctor man was calm as ever, the girl he was with even sleeping, but the others, they were the ones she was worrying about.

"No!" Sky glared at her, "Don't just stand there telling us the rules! You're the hostess, you're supposed to _do_ something!"

The Doctor headed for the door and knocked four times, only for the thuds to repeat four times as well.

"What is it, what the hell's making that noise?" Sky shouted, panicked, scared, starting to pant and gasp for breath, making everyone look at her in a mixture of concern and alarm, "She said she'd get me. Stop it, make it stop, somebody make it stop! Don't just stand there looking at me, it's not my fault, he started it with his stories..."

"Calm down!" Dee Dee called.

"...and he made it worse..." she pointed at the Doctor accusingly.

"You're not helping!" Val snapped.

"...why couldn't you leave it alone? Stop staring at me! Just tell me what the hell it is!"

"Calm down!" Dee Dee tried once more.

The thuds became continuous now, moving across the roof, following Sky, _walking_ towards Sky, as though sensing her movements, her fear, as she backed towards the cockpit door, "It's coming for me, oh it's coming for me, it's coming for me...it's coming for me! It's coming for me!"

She screamed as the Doctor lunged towards her in warning, "Get out of there!"

Suddenly the whole shuttle rocked, throwing everyone off balance as the lights went off and sparked. The passengers fell over, screaming, gasping and groaning in the darkness. Angel woke up with a startled gasp as she was literally thrown off the seat and to the ground, the force of it knocking the wind out of her.

"Alright?" Biff turned to Val, checking on her, "Ok."

"Argh..." the Doctor moaned, wincing himself, before sitting up quickly and rushing to Angel's side when he saw her awake and on the ground, helping her up, checking her over immediately, his hands flying over her to make sure she was alright, "Arms. Legs. Neck. Head. Eyes. Nose. Mouth," he gave her a quick kiss on the mouth, "You're fine…" and again, "I'm fine..." and once more.

Angel reached out and took his hand as he held it out to her, helping her up, "Is everyone ok?" she asked, swallowing hard, her throat was dry from sleep, making her voice sound even more hoarse than before.

Behind the two of them Raffaella Cara continued singing on a monitor near the ceiling, the power still on in them, only to be replaced, for a split second, by the face of Rose Tyler calling for Angel, muted, before she disappeared again and the monitor cut to static.

"Are you all alright?" Angel looked around. She moved to try and help Dee Dee up, the girl being the closest to her, but winced, rubbing her elbow, the Doctor instantly taking her arm in his hands and pulling her sleeve up to examine it, gently bending it and stretching it, rubbing it in his hands to help it, it was just bruised, thankfully, not that he was happy she'd gotten hurt, "Everyone alright?"

"Earthquake, must be..." Hobbes murmured.

"But that's impossible, the ground is fixed, it's solid," Dee Dee said, Hobbes's own research stated that.

"We've got torches, everyone take a torch, they're in the back of the seats," the hostess stood up.

Everyone turned and grabbed their torches, "Oh, Jethro, sweetheart, come here..." Val turned to her son as he stared forward with his torch shining on something.

"Never mind me, what about _her_?" he nodded to the front of the seats. They turned to see Sky sitting, motionless, among torn apart seats, her back to the them, her hands over her ears.

"What happened to the seats?" Val eyed them, they were literally torn apart, scattered around Sky as though the woman were the epicenter of an explosion or something.

"Who did that?" Biff wondered.

"They've been ripped up."

"It's alright," Angel turned to the woman, speaking soothingly as she stepped away from the Doctor to try and help her, "It's ok, everything's ok."

"It's over," the Doctor sighed, thankful, hopefully whatever that thing was had realized it couldn't get in and left, "We're still alive..." he looked around the shuttle, his torch landing on the wall in front of Sky where there was a large dent, but nothing torn, "Look, the wall's still intact. D'you see?"

The hostess stepped forward, reaching the intercom, "Joe, Claude?"

"We're safe Sky," Angel said to Sky.

She'd been starting to wake up before the crash, hearing the woman shouting, terrified and was worried for her. Sky seemed like a very lonely woman and she could empathize with that. Before she'd found the Doctor she'd really only had one friend, a best friend, she would have thought, till she'd found Martha. That girl had truly shown her what a best friend was like, someone who was always there for you, understanding you, supporting you and helping you no matter what. Yes, her friend on Gallifrey had been a very good one, but...a bit of a trouble-maker, popular too, didn't always have time for her after they'd gotten to the Academy, but still, he talked to her every now and then, kept his own group of friends from picking on her or laughing at her, so that was something.

It truly amazed her how far she'd come, what she'd had to lose to gain what she had now. She'd lost her family and her planet yes, all those amazing TARDISes, but she'd gained a Mate, a home, a physical bond to one TARDIS, a companion of her own, new family comprised of the most amazing humans ever and the truest friends she would ever have. In a way, despite the loss, what she had gained almost balanced out, to her. Life was a mess of gains and losses, some gains were smaller while some losses were larger, but the value behind them, sometimes the very best things came in the smallest package.

Like the Doctor, the best thing that had ever happened to her, in that little blue box.

"Driver Joe, can you hear me?" the hostess called again, making Angel look over, concerned for the drivers now, they should have answered, "I'm not getting any response, the intercom must be down," she opened the door to the cockpit and bright light blinded everyone, Angel jumping up from where she'd been kneeling beside Sky, wincing and throwing her arm over her eyes to block the light from her, it really hurt her eyes.

They screamed until the hostess closed the door again.

"What happened?" Val panted, "What _was_ that?"

"Is it the driver?" Biff stared, "Have we lost the driver?"

"The cabin's gone," the hostess's eyes widened in horror.

"Don't be ridiculous," Hobbes scoffed, "It can't be gone, how can it be _gone_?"

"Well, but you _saw_ it!" Dee Dee looked at him.

"There was nothing there, like it was ripped away," the hostess commented.

The Doctor looked at Angel, ' _You alright?_ ' he asked, seeing her rubbing her eyes.

' _Fine, just...wasn't expecting that,_ ' she answered, blinking as she looked up at him, offering him a smile.

He smiled back at her, a small one, the light had made her headache ten times worse, but she wouldn't ever say that out loud. He needed to figure out what was going on and get them out of there before anything else happened that affected her. He turned and fiddled with a panel on the front of the wall with his sonic.

"What are you doing?" Biff turned his light at the Doctor.

"That's better, bit of light, thank you," the Doctor smiled wider as Angel turned her light on it as well and pointed it over at him to help, "Molto bene!" he winked back at her.

"D'you know what you're doing?" Val frowned.

"The cabin's gone, you'd better leave that wall alone," Biff warned.

"The cabin _can't_ be gone!" Hobbes stated.

"No, it's safe, any rupture would automatically seal itself..." the Doctor took off the panel and saw wires ripped in half inside, "But something sliced it off. You're right. The cabin's gone."

"But if it gets separated..." the hostess began.

"It loses integrity. I'm sorry, they've been reduced to dust. The driver and the mechanic. But they sent a distress signal. Help is on its way. They saved our lives! We're gonna get out of here, I promise," he looked at Angel, moving over to her, taking her hand, "We're still alive, and they're gonna find us."

"I know," Angel nodded, squeezing his hand back, no matter what was out there or what might have gotten in or left them alone or whatever had happened, the Doctor was there, and he'd keep them safe till rescue came.

He beamed at that, hearing it in her mind, she truly had the most faith in him of anyone he'd ever met.

"Doctor," Jethro called, "Look at her," he was watching Sky, who was _still_ sitting motionless in the same position.

"Right, yes, sorry..." he looked around, "Have we got a medical kit?"

"Why won't she turn around?"

"What's her last name?" Angel asked the hostess, "Sky what?"

"Silvestry," the hostess recalled, "Mrs. Sky Silvestry."

"Sky? Are you ok?" she knelt down before the woman, but she didn't respond. She frowned, "Can you hear me Sky? Can you move? Sky...look at me, please?"

But Sky made no move at all.

"That noise, from the outside..." Jethro hesitated.

"What of it?" Val looked at her son.

"It's stopped."

"Well, thank God for that."

"But what if it's not outside anymore? What if it's inside?"

"Inside? Where?"

"It was heading for her," he pointed his light at Sky.

"It's ok now, Sky," Angel called softly, "Could you turn, just a little, face me?" slowly Sky did so, turning around to stare at her with wide eyes, looking like a wild animal caught in headlights, "Sky?"

"Sky?" she repeated.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?"

"What happened?"

"What happened?"

"Sky, if you don't want to talk, you don't have to..."

"Sky, if you don't want to talk, you don't have to..."

"I just want to help."

"I just want to help."

Angel frowned and looked over at the Doctor, confused and alarmed. He nodded and knelt beside her, "My name's the Doctor and this is my Mate, Angel."

And for once, Angel couldn't bring herself to say 'nice to meet you.'

"My name's the Doctor and this is my Mate, Angel."

"No...she's MY Mate," the Doctor countered, moving an arm around Angel, squeezing her.

"No...she's MY Mate."

"Ok, can you stop?"

"Ok, can you stop?"

"I'd like you to stop."

"I'd like you to stop."

"Why's she doing that?" Hobbes eyed her.

Sky turned to him sharply, "Why's she doing that?"

"She's gone mad," Biff said.

And did the same to Biff, "She's gone mad."

"Stop it!" Val called.

And Val, "Stop it."

"I said stop it!"

"I said stop it!"

"I don't think she can," Dee Dee murmured sadly.

"I don't think she can."

"Alright, now stop it, this isn't funny," Hobbes told her firmly.

"Alright, now stop it, this isn't funny."

"Shh, shh, shh, all of you," the Doctor called.

"Shh, shh, shh, all of you."

"My name's Jethro!" Jethro grinned, amused again, wondering just what he could get the woman to say, if she would repeat everything and anything.

"My name's Jethro!"

"Jethro, leave it, just shut up!" the Doctor glanced at him.

"Jethro, leave it, just shut up!"

"Why are you repeating us?" Angel asked the woman gently.

"Why are you repeating us?"

"What is that, learning?" the Doctor frowned, brow furrowed.

"What is that, learning?"

"Copying?"

"Copying?"

"Absorbing?"

"Absorbing?"

"The square root of pi is 1.77245385090551602729816748..."

"The square root of pi is 1.77245385090551602729816748..."

"…3341. Wow!"

"…3341. Wow!"

"But that's impossible," Hobbes stared at her as the woman repeated exactly what the Doctor was saying only a second later than him. There was NO way she could repeat all that!

"But that's impossible."

"She couldn't repeat all that," Dee Dee nodded, sharing Hobbes's thoughts.

"She couldn't repeat all that."

"Tell her to stop!" Val cried.

"Tell her to stop!"

"She's driving me mad."

"She's driving me mad."

"Just make her _stop_!"

"Just make her _stop_!"

The humans all began talking at once, Sky still repeating every single word she could hear clearly, not only copying their words but now their tone and rhythm, which alarmed the Doctor as he could see Sky, or whatever was inside her, was slowly starting to evolve if it could pick up that.

"...stop her staring at me, shut her up..." that was Val.

"...stop her staring at me, shut her up..."

"...a trick..." the hostess.

"...a trick..."

"...that's impossible..." Dee Dee.

"...that's impossible..."

"...I'm telling you, whatever your name is..." Biff.

"...I'm telling you, whatever your name is..."

"Now, just stop it, all of..." the Doctor moved to interrupt.

"Now, just stop it, all of..."

"...her eyes, what's wrong with her eyes?" and Hobbes.

"...her eyes, what's wrong with her eyes?"

"...copy anything..." now Jethro.

"...copy anything..."

"...Biff don't just stand her, do something, make her stop..." Val pleaded.

"...Biff don't just stand her, do something, make her stop..."

"...you're scaring my wife..." Biff nearly growled.

"...you're scaring my wife..."

"...Mrs. Silvestry..." the hostess.

"...Mrs. Silvestry..."

"Six, six, six," Jethro laughed.

"Six, six, six."

"...make her stop..." Val nearly wept.

"...make her stop..."

There was a slight screech as the lights turned on, making them all stop and Angel breathe a sigh of relief, she really didn't like the darkness, especially not after what happened in the Library...she'd actually managed to sleep a few days later, only to wake up screaming at a terrible nightmare...the Doctor, having been eaten by the Vashta Nerada. The Doctor had been at her side in an instant, but she hadn't been able to sleep since then...untill Hobbes had started lecturing before...

"Well then, that's the backup system," the hostess looked up.

Angel and the Doctor frowned, looking at Sky as she didn't repeat for the moment but continued to stare at them with her wide eyes.

"Well!" Biff nodded, "That's a bit better."

"What about the rescue, how long's it gonna take?" Val looked around.

"About 60 minutes, that's all," the hostess answered.

"50," Angel corrected, it had been about 10 minutes since the shuttle stopped she'd venture, judging by the Doctor's memories.

"Then I suggest we all calm down," Hobbes took charge, "This panic isn't helping. That poor woman is evidently in a state of..."

"...self-induced hysteria, we should leave her alone," Hobbes said at the _same time_ as Sky did.

"Doctor..." Jethro looked over, noticing that as well.

"I know," he sighed, taking Angel's hand and squeezing it.

Sky had started copying Hobbes's words, talking simultaneously _with_ him instead of after him. So...how long would it be before she spoke _before_ him?

"Doctor, now step back, I think you should leave her..." Hobbes/Sky trailed, realizing that Sky was talking at the same time as him, "Alone. What's she doing?"

"How can she do that?" Val/Sky stared, "She's talking with you...and with me! Oh, my God! Biff, what's she doing?"

"She's repeating...at exactly the same time," Jethro/Sky realized.

"That's impossible," Dee Dee/Sky frowned.

"There's not even a _delay_ ," Hobbes/Sky eyed her.

"Oh man, that _is_ weird," Jethro/Sky smiled.

"I think you should all be very, _very_ quiet, have you got that?" the Doctor/Sky looked back at them.

"How's she doing it?" Val/Sky cried.

"Mrs. Cane, please," Angel/Sky looked at the woman, "Shh."

"But how can she do that?" Val/Sky shook her head, "She's got my voice, she's got my words!"

"Sweetheart, be quiet, just...hush now," Biff/Sky comforted her, "Hush..." before realizing, "She's doing it to me!"

"Just stop it, all of you," the Doctor/Sky instructed, "Stop it. Please," he turned back to Sky, ushering Angel to stand back a bit, not wanting her near the woman copying them. She nodded and stood up, stepping back to give him space as he figured the situation out, moving to sit on the edge of one of the chairs that was still standing, "Now then, Sky," he turned to her, the woman still speaking with him, "Are you Sky? Is Sky still in there? Mrs. Silvestry?" he looked at her a moment, "You know exactly what I'm going to say, how are you doing that?" but she didn't answer as HE wasn't speaking, "Roast beef! Bananas! The Medusa Cascade. Bang! Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Angel Mate, TARDIS! Shamble bobble dibble dooble. Oh, Doctor, you're so handsome. Yes I am, thank you. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O..." he stood up, stopping short, "First she repeats. Then she catches up."

"What happens next then?" Angel/Sky asked, "The next stage?"

"Next stage of what?" Dee Dee/Sky wondered.

"But that's not her, is it?" Jethro/Sky guessed, growing just a little bit more serious, "That's not Mrs. Silvestry anymore."

"I don't think so, no," the Doctor/Sky shook his head, "I think...the more we talk, the more she learns. Now, I'm all for education, but in this case..." he took Angel's hand, "Maybe not. Let's just...move back. Come on. Come with me. Everyone, get back, all of you, as far as you can," he moved them all to the galley.

"Doctor, make her stop," Val/Sky complained.

"It'll be alright Val," Angel/Sky motioned her back gently, "Just stick with us and you'll be fine, don't look at her," she added, seeing Val glancing at the woman, "Jethro," she nudged the boy as well, "Come on everyone..."

"50 minutes," the Doctor/Sky repeated, "That's all we need. 50 minutes till the rescue arrives. And she's not exactly strong, look at her, all she's got is our voices."

"I can't look at her," Val/Sky turned away, "It's those eyes."

"'We must not look at goblin men,'" Dee Dee/Sky whispered as they all looked at her, confused.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Biff/Sky grimaced.

"It's a poem," the Doctor/Sky explained, "Christina Rossetti."

"'We must not look at goblin men," Dee Dee/Sky quoted, "We must not buy their fruits. Who knows upon what soil they fed, their hungry, thirsty roots.'"

"That's a bit creepy," Angel/Sky told the girl gently.

"She's not a goblin, or a monster, she's just a very sick woman," Hobbes/Sky insisted.

"Maybe that's why it went for her," Jethro/Sky shrugged.

"There is no 'it!'" Hobbes/Sky shouted.

"Think about it though," Jethro/Sky continued, "That knocking, it went all the way round the bus until it found her. And she was the most scared, out of all of us. Maybe that's what it needed. That's how it got in."

The Doctor tensed, realizing that, and felt even more thankful that Angel had been sleeping, the LAST thing he wanted was for that creature, whatever it was that was in Sky, to have gone after her. If it fed on fear and targeted it, somehow used it as a method of transferring its consciousness into Sky...Sky HAD been the most afraid. Thank God Angel had been sleeping, with her failing health she might not have been able to fight whatever it was that had taken Sky.

His hearts stopped just thinking about what could have happened if Angel had been possessed instead.

"For the last time!" Hobbes/Sky glared, "Nothing can live on the surface of Midnight."

"Professor, I'm glad you've got an absolute definition of life in the Universe, but perhaps the Universe has got ideas of its own, hmm?" the Doctor/Sky turned to the man, frustrated, "Now trust me, I've got previous experience! I think there might well be some...consciousness inside Mrs. Silvestry, but maybe she's still in there. And it's our job to help her."

"Well, _you_ can help her, I'm not going near," Biff/Sky glared.

"No, I've got to stay back," the Doctor/Sky said, tugging Angel closer, putting his arms around her, holding her back to his front, he'd seen her sway a bit when she'd stood from the chair to go to the back with everyone, he just...wanted to offer her some strength, and hold her in his arms, despite appearing calm, this situation was worrying him and having Angel closer, well, that always made him feel better, "Angel as well. If she's copying us, maybe the final stage is becoming us. I don't want her becoming either of us, or things could get a lot worse."

"Oh, like you're so special," Val/Sky spat.

"As it happens, yes we are, Angel especially," the Doctor/Sky glared at her, squeezing Angel's middle, "So that's decided. We stay back, and we wait. When the rescue ship comes, we can get her to hospital."

"We should throw her out," the hostess/Sky breathed.

"I beg your pardon?" Hobbes/Sky gaped.

"Can we do that?" Val/Sky considered.

"Don't be ridiculous," the Doctor/Sky frowned.

"That thing, whatever it is, killed the driver, and the mechanic, and I don't think she's finished yet," the hostess/Sky replied.

"She can't even _move_!" Angel/Sky countered, her hearts racing at hearing the humans, what had become her most favorite species, talking like that, so casually and easily about _killing_ someone.

"Look at her, look at her eyes!" the hostess/Sky pointed, "She killed Joe, and she killed Claude, and we're next."

"She's _still_ doing it," Biff/Sky turned and walked towards her, "Just stop it! Stop talking! Stop it!"

"Biff, don't, sweetheart!" Val/Sky gasped.

"But she won't stop!" Biff/Sky turned and walked back to them instead, "We can't throw her out though, we can't even open the doors."

"No one is getting thrown out!" the Doctor/Sky ordered.

"Yes, we can," Dee Dee/Sky stated, "'Cos there's an air pressure seal," she nodded at the hostess, "Like when you opened the cabin door, you weren't pulled out, you had a couple of seconds, 'cos it takes the pressure-wall about six seconds to collapse. Well, six seconds exactly. That's enough time to throw someone out."

"Thanks, Dee Dee, _just_ what we needed," the Doctor/Sky rolled his eyes.

"Would it kill her, outside?" Val/Sky wondered.

"I don't know, but she's got a body now, it would certainly kill the physical form," Dee Dee/Sky thought.

"No one is killing anyone!" the Doctor/Sky yelled.

"I wouldn't risk the cabin door twice, but we've got that one," the hostess/Sky pointed at the fire exit beside them, "All we need to do is grab hold of her and throw her out."

"Please stop!" Angel pleaded, tears in her eyes, "Don't talk like that, please!"

"Now, listen, all of you," the Doctor/Sky cut in, growing angry with them for not only talking about murder, but upsetting his Mate, tears...crying in general...often led to a headache and she already had a the worst one yet, he wasn't about to let them upset her even more, "For all we know that's a brand new life form over there. And if it's come inside to discover us, than what's it found? This little bunch of humans, what d'you amount to? A murder? 'Cos this is where you decide. You decide who you are. Could you actually _murder_ her? Any of you? _Really_?"

"Or are you so much _better_ than that?" the Angel/Sky asked they, looking at them sadly.

They were quiet, looking at each other for a few seconds...

"I'd do it," the hostess/Sky nodded.

"So would I," Biff/Sky added.

"And me," Val/Sky said.

"I think we should," Dee Dee/Sky admitted quietly.

"What?!" the Doctor/Sky gaped.

"Dee Dee," Angel looked at her, _so_ disappointed.

She had so much faith in humans...and they were...they were starting to let her down.

"I want her out," Dee Dee/Sky told him.

"You can't say that!" the Doctor/Sky shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but you said it yourself, Doctor, she is growing in strength," Dee Dee/Sky cried.

"That's not what I said!" the Doctor/Sky shouted.

"I want to go home," Dee Dee/Sky sniffled, "I'm sorry. I want to be safe."

"You'll _be_ safe," Angel/Sky promised, reaching out to take the girl's hand, squeezing it, despite the Doctor not letting her out of his arms, "I promise, the rescue crew is coming, just hold on a little longer."

"But what happens _then_?" the hostess/Sky reminded them, "If it takes that thing back to the Leisure Palace, if that thing reaches civilization, what if it spreads?"

"No, when we get back to the base, I'll be there to contain it," the Doctor/Sky replied.

"You haven't done much so far!" Val/Sky spat.

"You're just standing in the back with the rest of us!" Biff/Sky nodded.

"She's dangerous," the hostess/Sky stated, "It's my job to see this vessel is safe, and we should get rid of her."

"Now hang on, I think, perhaps we're all going a little bit too far," Hobbes/Sky called.

"At last!" the Doctor/Sky said, relieved, "Thank you."

"Two people are dead!" the hostess/Sky yelled.

"So please stop there!" Angel/Sky told them before looking at Jethro, "Jethro, what about you?"

"I'm not killing anyone," Jethro/Sky held up his hands.

"Thank you," Angel/Sky smiled.

"He's just a boy!" Val/Sky scoffed.

"What, so I don't get a vote?" Jethro/Sky frowned at her.

"There isn't a vote, it's _not_ happening!" the Doctor/Sky cut in, "Ever. If you try to throw her out that door, you'll have to get past me first."

"And me," Angel/Sky nodded.

Everyone just stared at them before…

"Ok," the hostess/Sky remarked.

"Fine by me," Biff/Sky shrugged.

"Oh, now you're being stupid," the Doctor/Sky said, pulling Angel back a bit behind him, actually worried that the humans might attack her, "Just think about it! Could you actually take hold of someone and throw them out of that door?"

"Calling me a coward?" Biff/Sky stepped up to him.

"Who put you in charge, anyway?" Val/Sky demanded.

"I'm sorry, but...you're a doctor of what, exactly?" Hobbes/Sky eyed him.

"They weren't even booked in," the hostess/Sky exclaimed, "Rest of you, tickets in advance. They just turned up out of the blue."

"Where from?" Val/Sky asked.

"We're just...travelling," the Doctor/Sky floundered, "We're travelers, that's all."

"Like an immigrant?" Val/Sky's eyes widened.

"Who were you talking to?" the hostess/Sky continued, "Before you got on board, you were talking to someone, who was that?"

"Donna," Angel/Sky said, "Just my sister."

"And what were you saying to her?" Biff/Sky asked suspiciously.

"He hasn't even told us his name," Val/Sky sneered.

"Thing is, Doctor, you've been loving this," Jethro/Sky began.

"Oh, Jethro, not you too," Angel/Sky shook her head at him sadly.

"No, but ever since all the trouble started, he's been loving it," Jethro/Sky defended.

"It has to be said, you do seem to have a certain...glee," Hobbes/Sky nodded.

"Alright, I'm interested, yes, I can't help it," the Doctor/Sky said, "'Cos whatever's inside her, it's brand new, and that's _fascinating_!"

"What, you _wanted_ this to happen?" Val/Sky gaped.

"No!" Angel/Sky shook her head, "He didn't say that."

"And you were talking to her," Biff/Sky recalled, "The two of you, before all the trouble, right at the front, you were talking to that Sky woman, the three of you together, I saw you."

"We all did!" Val/Sky agreed.

"And you went into the cabin!" the hostess/Sky exclaimed.

"What were you saying to her?" Biff/Sky glared.

"We were just _talking_ to Sky," Angel/Sky shook her head, "She was alone and seemed sad and I wanted to cheer her up."

"Saying what?" Biff/Sky asked.

"You called us humans like you're not one of us!" Jethro/Sky said.

"He did!" Val/Sky realized, "That's what he said!"

"And the wiring, he went into that panel and opened up the wiring," Dee Dee/Sky recalled.

"That was _after_ ," Angel/Sky turned to her.

"But how did you know what to do?" Biff/Sky turned to the Doctor.

"Because I'm clever!" the Doctor/Sky yelled.

Everyone went quiet, Angel and the Doctor immediately knew that was _not_ the best thing he could have said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhh...only one chapter left for the Doctor and Angel in Midnight :( All I can say is...I think I've been going easy on you these last two chapters in terms of heartbreak...be afraid, be very afraid, for the next chapter because...just to tease...the special title will be...A Sacrifice }:D
> 
> Lol, I really love that evil, madly cackling smirk :)


	38. Midnight: A Sacrifice

"I see," Hobbes/Sky replied stiffly, feeling as the rest of the group did, rather offended, "Well. That makes things clear."

"And what are we, then?" Biff/Sky glared, "Idiots?"

"That's not what he meant," Angel/Sky said softly, trying to calm them all down.

"If you're clever then what are we?" Dee Dee/Sky turned to the Doctor, actually a bit hurt. He'd seemed like such a nice man and there he was, basically calling them stupid!

"You've been looking down on us from the moment we walked in," Val/Sky sneered.

"Even if he goes, he's practically volunteered," the hostess/Sky added.

"Oh come on, just _listen_ to yourself, please!" the Doctor/Sky pleaded, squeezing Angel's hand as she tensed at the threat against HIM now, hearing her breath catch in her throat, feeling the fear for him rising in her, this was NOT good.

"What d'you mean, we throw him out as well?" Biff/Sky looked at the hostess.

"If we have to," the hostess/Sky nodded.

Angel squeezed the Doctor's hand tightly back, he could practically feel her getting worked up, and that wouldn't be good for her at all, "Look, just..." the Doctor/Sky tried to reason, trying to calm them down, "Right, sorry, yes, hold on, just...I know, you're scared, and so am I, look at me, I _am_. Because Angel is here, my Mate, and I brought her here to help her relax 'cos she's _dying_ , and this whole situation, all of it, it's _not_ helping her any. But we have all got to calm down and cool off and _think_."

The group seemed to pause just a moment, glancing at Angel as though realizing for the first time just how unwell she actually looked, just how bad a situation she must be in to be dying, knowing that their shouting and threats against the man she was clearly involved with must be affecting her negavtively. SHE at least had been rather polite and kind to them, they could try to be calm, for her.

"Perhaps you could tell us your name," Hobbes/Sky said reasonably.

"What does it matter?" the Doctor/Sky shook his head.

"Then tell us," the hostess/Sky remarked.

"John Smith," he said.

"Your _real_ name," Hobbes/Sky continued.

"He's lying, look at his face!" Biff/Sky exclaimed.

"His eyes are the same as hers," Val/Sky gasped.

"Why won't you tell us?!" Jethro/Sky called.

"He's been lying to us, right from the start!" Val/Sky shouted, "They both have!"

"No one's called John Smith!" Biff/Sky sneered, "Come off it!"

And again they all started talking at once, loudly, making Angel wince and pressed a hand to her already throbbing head, closing her eyes. She felt like every single noise since she'd been woken up had been magnified, echoed terribly in her head, it really was starting to hurt, so much so she was actually starting to feel physically ill by it.

"Now listen to me," the Doctor/Sky yelled, feeling that surge of nausea race through him from Angel, wincing as he had to shout as well, but needing the others to quiet, "Listen to me right now! Because you need me, all of you, if we're gonna get out of this, then you need me."

"So you keep saying!" Hobbes glared, "You've been repeating yourself more than her!"

Angel's eyes snapped open as she glanced back at Sky to see her staring, but _not_ speaking.

"If anyone's in charge, it should be the professor, he's the expert!" Val nodded.

"Mum, stop, just look..." Jethro called, noticing what Angel had.

"You keep out of this, Jethro," Biff cut in.

"Look at her!"

"She's stopped..." Dee Dee realized.

They all turned to see Sky still sitting motionless, but quiet, still staring at them.

"When did she..." the Doctor started, but Sky spoke with him, "No, she hasn't, she's still doing it."

"She looks the same to me..." Val began, her eyes widening as Sky remained silent for her, "No, she's stopped! Look, I'm talking, and she's not!"

"What about me, is she..." Biff started, "Look! Look at that! She's not doing me, she's let me go!"

"Mrs. Silvestry?" the hostess tried, "Nor me! Nothing!"

"Sky?" Angel called, turning to the Doctor sharply, concerned as she realized she wasn't being repeated either.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor/Sky eyed her.

"She's still doing him!" Dee Dee gasped.

"Doctor, it's you," Hobbes looked at him, alarmed, "She's only copying you."

"Why _me_?" the Doctor/Sky looked at the woman, "Why are you doing this?"

"She won't leave him alone!" Dee Dee murmured.

"D'you see?!" Val exclaimed, "I said so, she's with him."

"They're together!" Biff added.

"No, they're not!" Angel defended with a small gasp, all the shouting, the fear...it was almost like she could _feel_ it it was so thick around them, it was like it was choking her, making it harder to breathe than when she was running.

"How d'you explain it?" Hobbes glared at her, before turning to the Doctor, "Doctor? If you're so clever."

"I don't know," the Doctor/Sky shook his head, "Sky, stop it. I said stop it. Just stop it!" he walked over to her as Angel took a few stumbling steps forward as well, standing between him and the group, her hand resting on the top of a chair to balance herself.

"Look at the two of them!" Val watched them.

The Doctor knelt down to look into Sky's eyes, "Mrs. Silvestry," the Doctor/Sky said, trying his very best to remain calm, knowing that if the thing was targetting _him_ , that was very bad. He didn't know how it got into Sky, how it could spread, if it could spread, and while he did NOT want it to go to Angel...he didn't want it to go to him either, because if it found a way to control its host...he didn't want to think what it might make him do to her, he _refused_ to hurt her or let her be hurt because of this thing, "I'm trying to understand. You've captured my speech, what for? What d'you need? You need my voice in particular? Angel's is much nicer though. Or is it the cleverest voice in the room? Why? 'Cos I'm the only one who can help? Well then you've never met Angel, she really is an angel, you know, she'll help anyone. I'd love that to be true, that you need help. But your eyes. They're saying something else. Listen to me. Whatever you want, if it's life, or form, or consciousness, or voice, you don't have to steal it. You can find it without hurting anyone. And I'll help you. That's a promise. So. What d'you think? Do we have a…"

"Deal?" Sky finished.

"Deal?" the Doctor added a moment later.

Angel let out a shuddering breath, nearly falling to her knees as she realized what had just happened.

"Hold on, did she..." Dee Dee's eyes widened.

" _She_ spoke first," Jethro realized.

"She _can't_ have," Val argued.

"She _did_!" Hobbes exclaimed.

"She spoke first!" Jethro nodded.

"Oh, look at that, I'm ahead of you," Sky smiled.

"Oh, look at that, I'm ahead of you," the Doctor repeated, though Angel could hear it in his voice, a strain, he was fighting it.

"Did you see?" Hobbes's eyes widened, "She spoke before he did! Definitely!"

" _He's_ copying _her_ ," Jethro realized.

"Doctor, what's happening?"

"I think it's moved," Sky reasoned.

"I think it's moved."

"I think it's letting me go."

"I think it's letting me go."

"No…" Angel shook her head, tears in her eyes. No, no, no, this couldn't be happening!

"What do you mean?" Dee Dee asked, "Letting you go from what?"

"But _he's_ repeating now, he's the one doing it!" Biff cried, "It's him!"

"They're separating," Jethro's eyes widened.

"Mrs. Silvestry?" Hobbes called, "Is that you?"

"Yes, yes, it's me," she whispered.

"Yes, yes, it's me."

"I'm coming back, listen."

"I'm coming back..."

"It's _me_!" she cried.

"...listen. It's me!"

Angel shook her head slowly, the Doctor…he was still there! He was fighting the thing, whatever it was, repeating just...off.

Sky started slowly moving her head and hands, looking at them, examining them, though only Angel seemed able to see that it was NOT in a happy 'I'm back in my body' way but a 'oh, look at this new interesting body I'm in' sort of way.

"Like it's passed into the Doctor," Jethro guessed, "It's transferred. Whatever it is, it's gone inside him."

"No, that's not what happened," Dee Dee frowned.

"But look at her!" Val pointed.

"Look at me, I can move..." Sky smiled.

"Look at me..."

"I can feel again..."

"I can move...I can feel again..."

"Doctor…" Angel breathed, watching him, starting to shake as she felt her entire body go numb, whatever it was, he was fighting even internally, fighting to keep it from going after her through their mental and emotional bond...it _hurt_...it hurt so much.

"I'm coming back to life..." Sky called.

"I'm coming back to life..."

"And look at him, he can't move."

"And look at him, he can't move."

"Help me," Sky reached out to the humans.

"Help me."

"Professor?"

"Professor?"

"Get me away from him."

"Get me away from him."

"Please."

"Please."

Hobbes cautiously stepped forward, stepping around Angel, who stood motionless at the side of the aisle, clutching at the chair beside her to keep herself up though all she felt like doing was collapsing into tears ,her eyes locked on the Doctor's frozen form. She didn't know what to do! She wasn't clever like the Doctor, she hadn't even sensed it entering him or about ot enter him, her senses and feelings were completely gone. She didn't know what she could do to help him! What sort of rubbish Mate was she if she couldn't even help him!?

Hobbes reached out and took Sky's offered hand, pulling her back to the others in the rear of the shuttle. Angel watched Sky walk by until she had passed and ran to the Doctor's side, half-stumbling into a fall, landing hard on her knees before she crawled over to him, putting her hands on his face, stroking his cheeks, needing to comfort him, seeing tears in his eyes as they stared blankly at her, breaking her hearts.

"Oh thank you," Sky laughed.

"Oh thank you."

Angel winced as he repeated, racking her brain to try and think of something, anything that could help him!

"They've completely separated," Jethro said.

"It's in him, d'you see?" Biff cheered, "I said it was him all the time."

"She's free!" Val smiled at Sky, "She's been saved!"

"Oh, it was so cold," Sky said.

"Oh, it was so cold."

"I couldn't breathe."

"I couldn't breathe."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

"I must've scared you so much."

"I must've scared you so much."

Val hugged her tightly, "No, no, it's alright, I've got you, oh, there you are my love, it's gone, everything's alright now."

"Doctor," Angel blinked, tears falling down her face as she stared into his eyes, him unable to look back, "Please stop..." she whispered to him.

"I wouldn't touch her," Dee Dee warned, glancing at Sky and Val, tearing her gaze away from Angel.

"But it's gone, she's clean, it passed into him," Biff defended.

"That's _not_ what happened."

"Thank you for your opinion, Dee, but clearly, Mrs. Silvestry has been released," Hobbes remarked snobbishly.

"No..."

"Just leave her alone!" Val glared, "She's safe, isn't she? Jethro? It's let her go, hasn't it?"

"Think so, yeah," Jethro glanced between the Doctor and Sky, "Looks like it. Professor?"

"I'd say, from observation..." Hobbes nodded, "The Doctor can't move and, when she was possessed, she couldn't move, so..."

"Well, there we are then!" Biff smirked, "Now the only problem we've got is this Doctor."

"It's inside his head," Sky told them.

"It's inside his head."

Angel's eyes widened as the Doctor's flickered to hers.

"It killed the driver," Sky continued.

"It killed the driver."

"And the mechanic."

"And the mechanic."

"And now it wants us."

"And now it wants us."

"I said so!" Val exclaimed.

"He's waited so long," Sky smirked, eyeing the Doctor and Angel, taking pleasure in watching the girl grow paler as the man spoke, in watching her hope crumbling that he could be saved.

"He's waited so long."

"In the dark. And the cold."

"In the dark. And the cold."

"And the diamonds."

"And the diamonds."

"Until you came."

"Until you came."

"Bodies so hot."

"Bodies so hot."

"With blood."

"With blood."

"And pain."

"And pain."

"Stop, oh, my God, make him stop, someone make him stop!" Val shouted.

"But _she's_ saying it!" Dee Dee pointed at Sky.

"And you can shut up!"

"But it's not _him_ , it's _her_ , he's just _repeating_!"

"But that's what the thing does, it repeats!" Biff argued.

"Doctor please," Angel begged him quietly, trying to search his eyes for anything, "I don't know what to do."

"Just let her _talk_!" the hostess defended Dee Dee, realizing what the girl was trying to say.

"What do _you_ know?" Biff rounded on the hostess, "Fat lot of good you've been!"

"Just let her explain."

"I think..." Dee Dee began, "I mean, from what I've seen...it repeats, then it synchronizes, then it goes on to the next stage and that's exactly what the Doctor said would happen!"

"What, and you're on _his_ side?" Biff demanded.

"No!"

"The voice is the thing!" Jethro remarked.

"And _she's_ the voice! She stole it! Look at her! It's not possessing him, it's..."

"Draining him," Angel breathed out, stroking the Doctor's cheeks, feeling so...useless...more useless than ever, than in the Library with River. What could she do? What could she possibly do? They weren't in a TARDIS, she couldn't sense anything, she couldn't even find the strength to bring up the Vortex...she just...what was the point of her?!

Mates were supposed to protect each other!

"She's got his voice..." the hostess breathed.

"But that's not true, 'cos it can't, because I _saw_ it pass into him, I saw it with my own eyes!" Val exclaimed.

"So did I!" Biff stated.

"You _didn't_!" Dee Dee insisted, starting to grow concerned for Angel, the girl looked on the brink of a panic attack.

"It went from her, to him," Val said, turning to Jethro, "You saw it, didn't you?"

"I don't know…" he admitted.

"Oh, don't be stupid, Jethro, of course you did!"

"I suppose...he _was_ right next to her."

"Everyone saw it, _everyone_!" Biff stated.

"You _didn't_ , you're just making it up!" Dee Dee tried to get through to them, "I know what I saw, and I saw _her_ stealing his voice," she pointed at Sky who just stood there smirking.

"She's as bad as him, someone shut her up!" Val spat.

"I think you should be quiet, Dee," Hobbes told her.

"Well, I'm only saying..." she began.

"And that's an order! You're making a fool of yourself! Pretending you're an expert in mechanics and hydraulics, when I can tell you, you are nothing more than average, at best! Now shut up!"

Angel glanced over to see Sky smiling with satisfaction.

"That's how he does it," Sky told them.

"That's how he does it."

"He makes you fight."

"He makes you fight."

"Creeps into your head."

"Creeps into your head."

"And whispers."

"And whispers."

"Listen."

"Listen."

"Just listen."

"Just listen."

"That's him."

"That's him."

"Inside."

"Inside."

"Throw him out!" Biff yelled.

"Get him out of my head!" Val shouted.

"Yeah, we should throw him out!"

"Well, don't just talk about it! Just...you're useless! Do something!"

"I will! You watch me! I'm gonna throw him out!"

The Doctor's eyes widened a fraction, his fear, his fight evident in his eyes, fear Angel saw, fear...fear she'd felt streak through her.

"Yes!" Sky shouted.

"Yes!"

Angel let out a shuddered breath as the Doctor's voice broke.

"Throw him out!" Sky called.

"Throw him out!"

"Get rid of him!"

"Get rid of him!"

"Now!"

"Now!"

Biff stormed forward, about to grab the Doctor from behind, when Angel dashed forward and used all her weight and strength to shove him back, making him stumble towards the group, "You want a fight, you'll get one," Angel glared at Sky, "You should have taken his offer," she ran back and knelt before the Doctor, putting her hands on his temples, this was the ONLY thing she could think of, thinking on the Library...it made her remember what the Doctor had done to her, how he'd made her sleep, how he'd touched her mind...and this thing, whatever it was, was IN his mind...

"What's she doing!?" Val demanded.

"We need you Doctor," she whispered, kissing his forehead, before staring into his eyes, not at him but at the thing _inside_ him, "If you're gonna take one of us, you're gonna take _me_!" she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against his, using their connection, their bond, to touch her mind to his, to find the creature possessing him and forcefully drag it back, kicking and screaming most likely, across the bond...

And into _her_ mind.

Who better to trap it in? She was too weak from dying to be much use, it couldn't make her do anything...and it would free the Doctor.

The Doctor fell backwards with a gasp, blinking rapidly as he sat up quickly...to see Angel frozen there, a look of pain on her face her hands still raised where they'd touched his head, her face scrunched, eyes closed, shaking, "No…" he breathed, reaching forward to take her hands, "Angel…Angel!" he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them, his eyes now full of fury, rage, danger, and darkness as he stood to his height and turned to face the humans, "You've taken _my Mate_!" he glared at Sky, who's eyes were wide in fear at the near snarl in his voice, clearly she _hadn't_ been expecting that.

He stormed towards her, when Biff got in his way, grabbing the Doctor by his lapels and pushing him back, trying to defend Sky despite how the Doctor struggled against him, "Professor!" Biff called, who knew the slip of a man could be so strong? "Help me."

"I…I…" Hobbes shook his head, his entire theory demolished before his very eyes. He'd been crying that it was in the Doctor but now...now it was in Angel and the man was free, and HE would know better than any of them where the creature was and how it moved.

"What sort of a man are you? Come on!"

Hobbes just stepped back, unable to help, because he didn't know anymore. He'd been _wrong_.

"It's still in him!" Sky shouted.

"It's still in him!" Angel repeated, thus disproving Sky's remark, though Biff and Val didn't seem to notice despite the other humans that did.

"Cast him out!"

Before Angel could even repeat, the Doctor pulled himself out of his jacket, slipping past Biff. He shoved past Val, knocking her into Jethro's arms as Dee Dee and the hostess backed away. He grabbed Sky and shoved her over to the fire exit, holding her against it as he pushed the button to open the door. Blinding light flashed into the shuttle, making everyone scream and throw their hands up to try and block it. The Doctor, however, stared straight into Sky's, no, the creature's, terrified eyes, "One, two, three, four, five, six!" he shouted, shoving her past the door a moment before it sealed shut again.

Angel fell backwards with a gasp, before turning on her side and curling in on herself, grabbing her head as tears fell from her eyes and she started to cry, not a cry of fear but one of such deep _pain_. The Doctor rushed over to her, pulling her into his arms as the humans watched, stunned, "It's gone," he whispered to her, rocking her back and forth as he tried to soothe her, stroking her hair, his hearts breaking to feel the utter torment she was in, her minid feeling like it had been sent through a slicer, hurting her so terribly, a worse headache than ever, one that was physically hurting her, "It's gone...it's gone, it's gone, it's gone...it's gone," he swallowed hard, tears in his eyes as he kissed the top of her head, "It's gone...it's gone, it's gone, it's gone...it's gone, it's gone, it's gone..."

The humans watched in shock and horror at what they had nearly done to innocent people and an ever increasing sorrow and guilt as they watched the man cradle the fragile woman in his arms.

~8~

20 minutes later…

The Doctor was still sitting on the floor, Angel curled to his side, staring ahead of her blankly, red tear tracks down her cheeks as she clutched the Doctor's shirt, his jacket and his arm around her as she shook, the other passengers glancing at them from time to time.

"Repeat, Crusader 50," a voice called over the speakers, "Rescue vehicle coming alongside in three minutes, door-seals set to automatic. Prepare for boarding, repeat, prepare for boarding."

"3 minutes," the Doctor whispered, hugging Angel closer as he dropped a kiss onto her hair, mumbling into it, "Just 3 more minutes…"

The passengers looked down as the Doctor refused to look at any of them, far too disgusted by them and they knew it, even Angel closed her eyes and buried her face into his chest, feeling tears well up in her eyes again.

~8~

Donna walked slowly over to the Doctor and Angel as he helped the woman walk out of the shuttle and back into the Leisure Palace, his arm around her waist, supporting most of her, the girl looking weaker than ever, weaker than she should be. Angel _tried_ to give Donna a smile but couldn't muster one for once.

Donna's eyes filled with tears as she hugged them without a word.

~8~

"What d'you think it was?" Donna wondered as they sat back in the sunbathing room. The Doctor was lying on a sunbathing chair, Angel beside him, his arms around her to keep her from falling over, just letting the girl listen to his hearts beating to soothe her, while she sat on the chair beside them.

"No idea," the Doctor sighed.

"D'you think it's still out there?" he couldn't answer, "Well, you'd better tell 'em. This lot."

"Yeah," the Doctor mused darkly, "They can build a Leisure Palace somewhere else. Let this planet keep on turning, round an Xtonic star. In silence."

"Can't imagine you, without a voice," Donna tried to joke.

"Molto bene," the Doctor smiled a bit.

"Molto bene!" Donna teased.

"No, don't do that," Angel whispered, blinking back tears, her hoarse voice breaking, "Don't. _Please_ don't..."

Donna nodded and reached forward, putting a hand on Angel's in comfort, "Come on," she whispered, helping the girl up, "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" Angel murmured as she leaned heavily on Donna, feeling like a dead weight.

"To cheer you up," Donna echoed the words Angel had said to her so long ago, "I'm not about to let my sister be sad, we're going to have a sleepover."

"I love those," Angel managed a smile, Rose and Martha and her had had quite a few over their travels.

"No boys allowed!" Donna shouted over her shoulder as she led Angel into the TARDIS, the Doctor pouting behind them as he followed.

He...he didn't want to leave Angel alone, he wanted to check on her, see what damage that thing had done to her, but...he knew, him checking on her like that...it wasn't what she needed right now. Right now, she just...needed to forget for a moment. Donna would be great for that, she was brilliant at cheering people up even if she didn't realize it. He'd wait, let Angel have a rest, and examine her tomorrow.

~8~

Angel was lying on the floor of Donna's spacious room, it was a lovely, large room that seemed fit for a queen. A large four poster bed with a canopy and curtains around the sides to block the false sun steaming in through the rather big windows, decorated in soft woods and whites and light golds. There wasn't a desk anywhere, no books, but a large wardrobe in the back, a walk-in one, that had all sorts of outfits for different periods, and a TV set up to the side, a small sofachair that had a back massager built in to the side of the room, and a lovely plush carpet set down, nice and soft and perfect for a sleepover.

Donna had taken the large duvet from her bed, a very thick, down feather blanket really, and wrapped Angel in it when she'd seen the girl shivering a bit in her sleeping bag set up beside her own. They'd watched a few movies, she'd made popcorn, but Angel had only managed a few pieces of it before she hadn't been able to stomach more, especially when, the last piece, she'd tried to toss it up and catch it in her mouth and missed. Angel had only really eating them, she knew, to appease her and not worry her or the Doctor. They'd played a board game just because she didn't think Angel would manage 'Truth or Dare' or 'Twister' or any other sort of physical games. She'd painted the girl's nails a brilliant red to match her hair and Angel had managed to paint her nails in return, a rainbow of colors because she claimed her sister was just too unique and brilliant that only ONE color could represent her. And now...they were just, quietly talking, some movie about vampires and werewolves playing behind them, more background noise than anything as Angel hadn't understood why the Vampires in it were sparkling and uncomfortable with the werewolves constantly running around with their shirts off.

So they'd just started talking, about everything and nothing, their families, their favorite holidays, the funniest jokes they'd heard, just...whatever came to mind. They were quiet now though, a comfortable silence really, Angel seeming to be almost tired enough to actually sleep.

"Are you scared?" Donna wondered after a few more moments of just lying there, rolling onto her side to look at Angel.

Angel was silent a moment, staring at the ceiling, "Not of dying," she said quietly, knowing that was what Donna had been asking about, "I don't like death, I don't like how it's so...final, how you realize you won't ever see that person again. But...I'm not afraid of it, no," she swallowed, before admitting, "I'm afraid of the pain," it really would only get much worse, it had been so crippling the last time on the _Valiant_ , it had just... _hurt_ , everything hurt, so much, "I'm afraid of what I'll be leaving behind," she blinked as tears came to her eyes, "I'm afraid of what will happen to the people I love when I'm gone," she took a breath and struggled to roll onto her side, looking at Donna as she managed to reach out a weak, cold, shaking hand to take Donna's between them, "Will you promise me something?"

"Anything," Donna said instantly, after everything Angel had done for her, she'd really do anything at all for that girl.

"Two things, really..."

"Name it."

Angel smiled at that, squeezing Donna's hand, "Promise me that...when I die..."

"IF you die," Donna insisted, her voice breaking, she knew Angel was likely going to die, but she knew, when Angel said it, she meant in the context of not coming back or regenerating.

"If I die," she said, if just to calm her, "Promise me you'll keep Gingers United going," she looked at Donna.

Donna let out a little laugh at that, "Of course."

"And..." Angel looked at her, serious now, "Promise me you'll stay, with the Doctor, that you'll look out for him. Promise me you won't leave him alone. I..." her face scrunched as she started to cry and tried not to, "He needs my sister with him if he can't have me."

Donna nodded, tears in her own eyes, "I swear it," she squeezed Angel's hand, putting her other hand on top of the girl's, "I'll stay with him forever."

"Thank you," she breathed, sniffling, feeling so much better to know the Doctor would be looked after when she died.

Because she felt it now, not a true 'feeling' but just...a terrible weight in her hearts, she was going to die and...she honestly and truly did not believe she'd come back. What she felt...it was too final, it hurt too much, it hurt so much more than on the _Valiant_. She hadn't told the Doctor that though, but that feeling...it had driven her to try and make sure he'd be ok afterwards. She'd made the garden, she'd gotten Donna to promise to stay with him, she was going to get all his companions, all her family, together with her so that he wouldn't be alone when she passed, so they'd all be there for him.

She just...she needed to make sure he'd be ok without her.

As much as it killed her to do that, to plan like that, to have such little hope, her, whose title literally meant hope in the language of other species, but...she had to.

"You just...sleep," Donna told her, "You rest and you save your strength, you're not leaving us any time soon ya hear?"

Angel nodded, blinking a bit as she slowly drifted off to sleep, the first time in so long that it came naturally and without someone boring her to death like Hobbes or just...being so worn that she nearly collapsed into the Doctor's arms.

Donna, though, remained awake long after Angel had closed her eyes, waiting to make sure Angel had truly fallen asleep, watching to make sure, through the night, that she continued to breathe.

And so, the two ginger sisters stayed like that the rest of the night, one sleeping and one watching over the other, hands held tight between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :'(
> 
> I have no words, just picturing that last moment, Donna and Angel cuddled up, holding hands, with Donna watching over her as she sleeps...kills me. Poor Angel. She's tried so hard to get her affairs in order, to give the Doctor some sort of comfort when she dies...will it help? Will he last? Will he keep his promise to follow her? Or will she survive/live/revive/regenerate? Well...there's only a little more than a week to find out }:) But I can say we'll find out just how badly having that creature in her head affected Angel in the next chapter :(
> 
> I did promise somewhere (can't remember where) that Angel would get another addition to her wardrobe. We'll see a very familiar item appear in the next chapter :)


	39. Turn Left: Turn Right

Donna, Angel, and the Doctor walked through an oriental marketplace on a lovely alien planet, down a narrow, though crowded, alley with various people selling their wares. Angel was leaning heavily on the Doctor, wearing a thick, long, pink frock coat with a white scarf that the Doctor had found in the back of the TARDIS wardrobe. She felt colder than ever despite the faint sweat on her brow, she hadn't stopped shivering despite the Doctor's best efforts to warm her up. So he'd searched the wardrobe for the thickest, most comfortable, coat he could find and came across that one, it was familiar and it suited Angel brilliantly. She'd loved it, whether because it wasn't too big and uncomfortable or because he'd cared enough to find one she would like that might also keep her warm, he didn't know. But she'd put it on the moment he'd offered it to her and kissed him for it. He hoped it helped her, because...

She looked worse for the wear.

Ever since Midnight things had just gotten that much worse for her. He'd run all sorts of tests when, the next morning after the sleepover with Donna (he'd been thrilled to find she'd actually managed to sleep) she was just...so weak she'd barely been able to get up on her own. Donna had walked in from making her breakfast with him, a sort of small surprise to hopefully lift her spirits, only to see Angel struggling to use a chest at the end of the bed to stand and panting from the effort. She'd screamed for him and ran to help Angel before the woman passed out. All the tests...he almost wished he hadn't run them. According to them, having whatever alien had infected him in her mind had accelerated the failing of her brain along with her other organs. The strain alone of the alien clawing at her mind and trying to escape back to him had worn her out. She'd been in so much pain when he'd finally stopped the alien and she'd seemed to have gotten just a little better when Donna had been with her...but that morning, after her body had had time to process what had happened...it just...all fell apart.

He wasn't even sure she would last another few _days_ and it showed on his face, Donna had seen it. He rarely smiled anymore, hardly laughed, barely did anything at all unless it was working away in the med-bay or the console to try and find some way to help Angel, that or spending time with her. That was the ONLY thing that got him out of either room when they weren't on adventures, Angel wanting to sit with him or talk to him or read with him, he'd drop everything he was doing and rush to her side the moment she asked.

And it broke Donna's heart because, despite all that, Angel didn't smile anymore either, not a real one. She could see it now, the strain in her smile, how it didn't reach her eyes like it had when they'd first started travelling, when she and Angel had had a laugh in the wardrobe, coming up with uniforms for Gingers United, she didn't smile that widely anymore. She forced it, for them, to try and make them less worried about her, but...they could both tell when she faked it now so it didn't help.

And seeing the Doctor so...devastated, she saw it in his eyes whenever Angel wasn't looking, the complete sorrow and hopelessness, the utter agony that reflected in his tears at seeing her so...weak and failing so...so near the end. It made her terribly afraid that, despite her promise to stay with him forever, to help him, as Angel had requested, she was afraid that it wouldn't be enough, that SHE wouldn't be enough. She'd mentioned it to the girl just before they'd reached this planet, Shan Shen, that she was afraid the 'sister' wouldn't be enough if he didn't have his Mate, she wasn't as important as the Time Lady.

Angel just gave her a small smile and told her that she was more than enough. She'd just squeezed her hand weakly and told her that humans were so amazing, and even MORE important than any Time Lord. And...that she trusted her, that she believed in her, that she knew Donna would be there for him, because they were family now, and family was always there when you needed them.

She'd cried a bit at that, because she'd remembered how Angel felt about all the Doctor's companions, that they were family, and that she wanted them to be there in the end, whenever that was.

And she was so scared that that 'whenever' might be sooner than she was ready for.

The Doctor seemed to think that as well. He'd wanted to keep Angel on the TARDIS the last few weeks, wanting her to just be comfortable, but Angel would have _none_ of that. While the TARDIS was a home to her, she argued, she _didn't_ want to _ever_ see it as a second prison, like the _Valiant_ had been. She'd insisted that they go on as many trips as they could, regardless of whether it would accelerate her body shutting down or not. She wanted it to be as normal as possible.

And the Doctor was not one to deny her anything.

He _had_ , however, taken it upon himself to make sure that the last few trips were safe, and easy. She suspected Angel knew about that, after the last 7 trips being nearly _boring_ in their lack of deadly traps and situations, but they were trips nonetheless. Angel had insisted she would _only_ stay in the TARDIS when it was finally time, and hoped they would still have enough time to gather Martha, Jack, Sarah Jane and their friends together to be with her in her last moments.

Donna shook her head, not wanting to think about that anymore, and looked over to see the Doctor lead Angel over to a small stall, looking at the fruit there before sniffing his fingers, grimacing at the smell as Angel smiled a bit. She walked over to them and they continued on their way, laughing at a remark Angel had made, a real laugh as Angel seemed determined to make them smile and laugh whenever she could.

"You are going to _love_ this," the Doctor grinned, getting them three mugs of a warm liquid with foam on the top of it, "One, two, three…" they all took a swig, even Angel who'd stopped really eating or drinking 2 trips back, if just to make the Doctor smile. Angel laughed, seeing that they all had foamy moustaches, "Ah!"

"Delicious," Angel smiled as she set down her cup to wipe her face, only to have the Doctor do it for her, he really _was_ determined to take care of her.

"It's lovely!" Donna agreed before they continued down the alley. The Doctor stopped by a small booth, looking at a fruit with spikes on it, saying something about a Banana Karlatta or something as Donna continued on, looking at a booth a few feet away. There were some lovely little trinkets on it and she really wanted to find something for Angel, just something small (because she knew the girl would never accept something huge) to cheer her up a bit. Just a little gift for being the best younger sister in the Universe.

"You want to buy Shukina?" a stall owner asked, seeing her looking at the stalls, "Or Peshwami? Most beautiful Peshwami in all of Shan Shen."

Donna glanced back at the Doctor and Angel as the Doctor asked the seller about the fruit, "No thanks," she told the stall owner before walking on.

"Tell your fortune, lady?" another woman called, sitting outside a small shop as Donna turned to her.

Donna swallowed hard, "Ah, no thanks."

"Your future predicted, your life foretold?"

"Already had someone predict my future," Donna murmured, thinking of Angel again, her visions had faded long ago, her senses and feelings along with it. She couldn't even sense the Doctor anymore and she knew that KILLED Angel to know.

"Don't you want to know, if you're going to be happy?" the woman continued to try and bait her.

"I'm alright for now."

Because, no, she really didn't. She didn't want to know if she wouldn't be happy, because Angel would be dead in that future. She'd be thrilled beyond anything to find that Angel survived, that she regenerated like they were all afraid she wouldn't, but...in the same breath...she DIDN'T want to know if Angel didn't make it. She was...she was too afraid of learning that.

"You've got red hair. Reading's free for red hair."

"Alright, then," Donna sighed, seeing that the woman just wouldn't let it go. So she'd go in there, see what nonsense the woman would spout and if she started talking negatively about Angel's future, she'd run out of there faster than she had to meet the Time Lords in the Adipose building.

The woman stood aside, allowing Donna into her fortune telling space, following with a slightly sinister smile.

~8~

Donna and the fortune teller sat at opposite sides of a table, the teller looking intently at Donna's hand, tracing her palm with nail polished fingers, "You're fascinating. Oh no, but you're _good_. I can see...a man...and a _woman_?" the teller raised an eyebrow as Donna half-laughed, "The most remarkable people. How did you meet them?"

"You're supposed to tell me," Donna smirked.

"I see the future. Tell me the past. When did your lives cross?"

"It's sort of complicated," Donna shrugged, "I ended up in their spaceship on my wedding day."

There was a strange clicking noise from behind her but Donna didn't notice, the teller though, narrowing her eyes at something on the floor, "But what led you to that meeting?"

"All sorts of things," Donna guessed, in thought, "But my job, I suppose. It was on Earth...this planet called Earth, miles away. But I had this job as a temp. I was a secretary at this place called H.C. Clements," she jerked forward.

~8~

_"H.C. Clements," Donna answered a phone, looking around at her office in the building._

~8~

"Sorry," Donna shook her head, back in the present.

"It's the incense," the teller replied, caressing her hand, "Just er, breathe deep. This job of yours, what choices led you there?"

"There _was_ a choice...six months before. The agency offered me this contract with H.C. Clements…"

~8~

_Donna and her mother walked out of their house towards the blue car._

~8~

"But there was this other job. My mum knew this man…"

~8~

_"Jival, he's called," Sylvia said as she got into the passenger's seat, "Jival Chowdry? He runs that little photocopy business. And he needs a secretary."_

_"I've. Got. A. Job," Donna rolled her eyes as she got in the driver's seat._

_"As a temp. This is permanent. It's 20,000 a year, Donna."_

_"H.C. Clements is in the City. It's nice. It's posh. So stop it," she started the car._

~8~

"Your life could have gone one way or the other," the teller remarked, "What made you decide?"

"I just did," Donna shrugged.

"But when was the moment? When did you choose?"

~8~

_A large blue van drove past as Donna and her mother waited at a junction in the car, "It won't take long, just turn right," Sylvia was nagging, "We'll pop in and see Mr. Chowdry. Suzette can introduce you."_

_"I'm going LEFT!" Donna exclaimed, fed up, "If you don't like it, get out and walk."_

_"If you turn right, you'll have a CAREER. Not just filling in."_

_"You think I'm so useless…"_

_"I know why you want a job with H.C. Clements, lady. Because you think you'll meet a man with lots of money and your whole life will change. Well, let me tell you, sweetheart...city executives don't need temps, except for practice."_

_"Yeah," Donna scoffed, "Well, they haven't met ME," and she turned left._

~8~

"You turned left," the teller nodded, "But...what if you turned right? What then?"

"Let go of my hands," Donna looked at her, shaken, suspicious. That memory...it had been too powerful, too clear and vivid, it had been almost like she was right back in there. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. And if there was one thing she'd learned from Angel...besides kindness, forgiveness, compassion, generosity, well, a lot of things really...it was to trust her instincts just like Angel always trusted hers.

"What if it changes?" the teller held onto her hand, refusing to let go of her, "What if you go right? What if you could _still_ go right?"

"Stop it…" Donna breathed, scared…and suddenly she froze, feeling something crawl up her back, something large, "What's that?" there was a clicking that made her gasp in alarm, "What's on my back?" the teller didn't answer, just fixed her with an intense stare, "What is it? What…what's on my back?"

"Make the choice again, Donna Noble," the teller whispered, watching as Donna blinked, growing more dazed, falling under the power of the creature on her back, "And change your mind. Turn right."

"I'm turning..." Donna whispered, entranced.

"Turn right. Turn right. Turn right."

~8~

_"Let me tell you, sweetheart...city executives don't need temps, except for practice," her mother was saying._

_"Yeah," Donna sighed, "S'pose you're right."_

~8~

"Turn right and _never_ meet them!" the teller shouted, "Turn right and change the world!"

~8~

_And Donna turned right..._

~8~

Donna Noble pushed her way through a crowd of people at the pub that Christmas, trying to make her way to her friends as they sat around a table.

"Oh, sorry," she called as she bumped into a woman, pausing to frown at the woman's hair it was...ginger. But not just ginger like a proper deep red color, probably fake, but still...there was something about it. She blinked and shook her head, continuing on, "Get out of the way. Get out of the way!" she smiled at the group of women, putting the tray down, "There we are! Feed at the trough."

"Mooky says let's go to the Boardwalk," one of her friends was saying, "It's two for the price of one."

"Christmas Eve? It'll be heaving."

"Exactly!" Mooky grinned, "Get in and grab 'em," they laughed.

"Hey, that's the second round of drinks you've bought," her friend looked down at the tray, "It was my turn!"

"I can afford it," Donna said proudly, "Promotion. You are talking to Jival Chowdry's personal assistant, I'll have you know. Capital P, capital A, 23,000 pounds per annum, merci beaucoup! Allons-y!"

She blinked again, frowning, where had that last one come from? It meant 'let's go' she knew that much but...how? The most she knew in French was 'bonjour' and 'merci beaucoup.' Ah well, she shrugged and sat down, must have heard someone in the crowd shouting it before and it just snuck up on her.

Her friend raised her glass, "Here's to Mr. Chowdry!"

"Mr. Chowdry!" they all toasted except a blonde woman sitting beside Donna.

"She gets all the luck," Mooky laughed.

"Not my fault if I've just got a good luck charm, is it?" she smiled.

"What is it?" Mooky looked at her, "Oh, go on Donna, don't keep it all to yourself, share the wealth!"

Donna laughed tensely and shook her head, why had she said that? She didn't have a good luck charm, she didn't believe in them. She'd never owned a rabbit's foot, never looked for four-leaf clovers, never stopped to pick up a penny head's up, she just...didn't see the point. She reached out and took a sip of her drink and looked over to see the blonde hadn't joined in, she was just staring at _her_ shoulder in alarm, "What's wrong? What is it?"

"Sorry?" she looked up.

"Has someone spilled a drink on me?" Donna frowned, trying to look over her own shoulder, "Why do you keep looking at my shoulder? What's wrong?"

"I don't know…"

"Oh, don't tell me you're getting all spooky again. It was bad enough when you saw the ghost of Earl Mountbatten at the Boat show and started saying you were psychic," she shifted a bit at that, the girl was the FARTHEST thing from a psychic and she knew psychics...hold on...no she didn't. Why'd she think that? She didn't know any psychics, she didn't believe in them. She shook her head, "What are you looking at? What is it?"

"It's like...it's like there's something I can't see!"

"Shut up, all of you!" a man yelled, running into the pub, "Come and see! Just look at the sky!" everyone stopped chattering and looked at him, "It's a star! A Christmas star!"

"Come on, then," Donna's friend stood up and headed outside, the rest following with the crowd, all looking up at the sky.

"What the hell _is_ that?" Mooky stared.

"Ken Livingston, that's what, spending our money on decorations," they watched what looked like a large, webbed-star float over the rooftops, "I mean, how much did that cost?"

"Don't be so stupid, it's flying! It's really flying!"

They all hurried around the corner, trying to keep the star in sight.

"That's not a star," Donna murmured, unable to help feeling like she'd REALLY seen a star, up close and personal, and that thing...that was NOT a star at all, "That's a web. It's heading..." she licked her finger and held it up, "East...the middle of the City…" before staring at her finger in confusion, why had she done that?

There was a clicking as the blonde stared at Donna's back, trying so hard to see what was making the noise...when the web stopped above the street, shooting electricity out of the ends of the web. Everyone but Donna, who was staring wide eyed at the web, and Alice, who was staring at Donna, ran back in horror, screaming.

"Alice," Donna turned to the blonde woman, "There's a great big web-star thing shooting at people, and you're looking at _me_?"

"There's something on your back," Alice said, scared, before running away.

' _...and you, daughter of London...you have something on your back..._ '

Donna gasped and swallowed hard, looking around, trying to see who might have said that to her. She'd heard someone speaking, some man, but...everyone had scattered, there was no one around her really. She shook her head and turned, running in the direction of the star.

"Donna!" her friend yelled, "Where are you going? You're going to get yourself killed! Donna!" but Mooky pulled her away and they fled.

~8~

An army tank rolled into the City amidst the chaos, stopping and aiming at the star, "FIRE!"

Tanks all over the city fired at the star, till it burst into flames and shattered as Donna jogged onto the scene, "Everyone stay back," a soldier ordered the small crowd that had gathered, "The Thames has been closed. Return to your homes," Donna looked around, "Keep away from the river, and that's an order."

Donna crept around some other cars and spotted a UNIT soldier holding a radio as a voice came over the other end, "Trap One to Greyhound Fifteen: what is your report? Over."

"From the evidence, I'd say they managed to stop the creature," the soldier reported, "Some sort of red spider..."

'... _I found my husband with another woman. A younger, prettier woman. Isn't that always the way?_...'

'... _well, mine was with a giant spider but same difference_...'

Donna gasped, looking around a moment, there was a woman...some woman and...SHE was talking to her, but about a spider? Why would she be talking about spiders? She hated spiders!

"Blew up the base underneath the barrier," the soldier continued, "Flooded the whole thing. Over."

"And where are they now? Over."

"We found two bodies, sir. Over."

Donna frowned as a stretcher was brought in, covered by a red blanket, towards an ambulance.

"Is it them? Over."

"I think so. They just didn't make it out in time. We found them in the tunnels. It looked like they'd tried to escape but were too late," an arm clothed in a pinstriped, brown suit fell lifelessly over the side of the stretcher, dropping a small metal stick onto the road, "The Doctor is dead."

'... _who are you?_...'

'... _I'm the Doctor_...'

Donna shook her head, no one was there! No one was talking to her...so why did she keep hearing people talking to her?!

"And the other one?"

The soldier walked over to a second stretcher as it was pushed up, motioning for the soldiers to stop before pulling down the blanket with something akin to respect or reverence. Donna squinted, barely able to make out brilliant red hair before the blanket was returned, "Judging from what's left of the Torchwood files sir, it's his Mate, it's the Angel."

'... _the Angel. And you?_...'

'... _Donna_...'

'... _well then, Donna, it is very nice to meet you_...'

Donna let out a breath, feeling like her heart was breaking at the news that the two on the stretcher were dead. But why? She'd never met them before. She'd never even known anyone named Angel and who would ever name their child 'The Doctor?' Nutters, that's who.

The soldier sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Must have happened too fast for them to regenerate, too suddenly for even her to sense it," he stepped back as the soldiers loaded the two bodies into two ambulances.

"Escort the ambulances back to UNIT base."

UNIT? Donna frowned at that, there was something...familiar about that...she'd heard it on the news once or twice, when her gramps would watch it, swearing they were covering up alien invasions, but she just...felt like it was more familiar, more personal, a connection with the division than that. Even that Torchwood place brought up similar feelings.

The doors shut as Donna turned to slowly walk away, her head spinning and so full of confusing and conflicting thoughts. She felt...numb, but also like she wanted to cry, but still...unaffected in a way...and she didn't know why.

She looked up though, as a blonde girl ran down from the opposite direction, "What happened?" the girl gasped, panting, "What did they find?" she looked over at Donna, "Sorry, did they find anyone?"

"I don't know," Donna frowned, "Um, bloke called the Doctor or something and a woman, some ginger, um...Angel?"

"Well, where are they?" she shook her head, not seeing them around.

"They were taken away. They're dead," the blonde turned to stare at her, alarmed, tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry. Did you know them?"

The blonde shook her head, looking away in utter dismay, "He was my best friends…" she blinked, a tear falling from her eyes, "She was my _sister_...they...they can't be _gone_..."

"Well...they didn't say his names...it could be any doctor at least..." she couldn't bring herself to speak of the ginger girl, something about the woman's tears, about her claims that the ginger was her sister...struck something in her...like...empathy. But she didn't know why it was, SHE had never had a sibling before.

"I came so far…"

"It could be _anyone_ ," she repeated, touching the woman's arm.

The blonde looked at her as though just realizing she was there, "What's your name?"

"Donna. And you?"

The blonde's eyes widened as she stared at her, looking almost stunned by just her name, which was odd, "Donna..." the woman trailed, clearly waiting for her to add her last name.

"Noble."

The woman let out a breath, "Oh my God," she whispered, before shaking her head, still unable to pull her gaze away from Donna, just giving her a quick once-over, only for her gaze to land on Donna's shoulder and stay there, tensing, hearing a faint clicking noise, "I was just...passing by," she swallowed, "I shouldn't even be here, this is...wrong. It's wrong. This is so wrong..."

"Why do you keep looking at my back?"

"I'm not," she pulled her gaze away instantly.

"Yes, you are. You keep looking behind me. You're doing it now," she strained to look behind her, "What is it? What's there? Has someone put something on my...back..." she trailed, looking back to see the woman was gone.

She looked around, bewildered, before shaking her head and walking off.

~8~

Donna stamped her foot in anger as she stood before Chowdry in his office, "You can't _sack_ me. I'm your personal assistant!"

"You don't have to make a scene," he told her calmly, "Just come downstairs and we can have a little talk."

"Oh, I'll make a scene, alright. Right in front of a tribunal, and the _first_ thing I'm going to say is 'wandering hands!'"

"Now, come on Donna, you know what it's been like for the past few months, ever since that Christmas thing! Half my contracts were on the other side of the river and the Thames is still closed off. Look, I can't deliver. I'm losing a fortune. "

"Well, sack one of this lot! Sack Cliff! He just sits there! Don't know what he does all day, sorry Cliff…" she turned to him, "Actually, I'm not sorry, what DO you do all day?"

Before Cliff could answer the whole office shook as what sounded like an explosion took place outside. But Donna just stood there, unaffected, hardly even shaken or thrown off balance by the shaking, it wasn't the worst she'd ever experienced...

Not that she experienced mad shaking on a daily basis.

"What the hell?" Chowdry ran to the window along with his staff to see what was happening. Donna merely shook her letter open with an irritated sigh, "It's like an earthquake!" he squinted, seeing a thick black cloud outside, over the hospital a short distance away, "That's weird! Funny sort of clouds."

"Who typed this?" Donna looked down at her letter that said she was officially fired, " _I'm_ your PA! Did you get someone else to type this?" the staff exchanged glances, bemused by her lack of priority, "Beatrice!" Donna shouted furious as the woman in question just turned to look at her.

~8~

A BBC News 24 reporter was standing in the rain, under an umbrella, while the headline read 'Royal Hope Hospital Vanishes in Upward Rain Mystery,' "It sounds impossible, but the entire hospital has _vanished_ ," the reporter said as the footage cut to the empty crater where the hospital once stood, "The Royal Hope no longer exists. It's not been destroyed, there's no wreckage. It's simply gone," the office staff, sans Donna, crowded around the TV listening, "Reports from bystanders say that the rain lifted up around the hospital..."

"Hole-punch, having that," Donna said as she packed up a box with supplies, "Stapler, mine. Toy cactus, you can have that Beatrice, catch," she chucked the cactus at Beatrice, the toy squeaking as she caught it, "Cliff, I'd leave you the mousemat, but I'm worried you'd cut yourself."

"Alright, Donna, have some respect," Chowdry glared at her, "There's 2,000 people in the hospital and it's vanished."

"Oh, I'll show you vanishing," she returned the glare, "Thanks for _nothing_."

She suddenly winced, pressing a hand to her head.

... _she screamed as she swung…right underneath a stair corner and hit the wall below it with a dull thud_...

... _someone winced, a man peering over the edge to look down at her, '...oh. Sorry_...'

'... _thanks for nothing,' she muttered as she lay sprawled out on her back on the floor, in a wedding dress_...

She shivered at that, her married, as though any man could tie her down like that, before she got right back to what she'd been doing, "Oh, and you know when that money went missing from the kitty? Anne-Marie. That's all I'm saying," she started yelling, "Anne-Marie!"

There was a rumble as the office shook again.

"Oh, don't tell me," she rolled her eyes.

'... _don't tell me the TARDIS is gone!_...'

She pursed her lips, ignoring that, "The hospital's back. Well, isn't that wizard?" she kicked a drawer shut and stormed off. She'd just gotten fired and her head hurt, her day could NOT get any worse!

~8~

Donna and Wilf sat on the sofa, watching the news that evening, while Sylvia went through the box of supplies Donna brought home/stole from the office, "To confirm, the Royal Hope Hospital _was_ returned to its original position," the reporter said, "But with only one survivor. The only person left alive is medical student Oliver Morgenstern."

"There were these creatures..." Morgenstern appeared, wrapped in a shock blanket, "Like...rhinos, talking rhinos, in…in…in black leather."

"Rhinos?" Donna scoffed.

"Rhinos could be aliens," Wilf remarked.

"Shh..."

"There were _hundreds_ of them," Morgenstern continued, "We couldn't breathe. We were running out of air. A colleague of mine gave me the last oxygen tank. Martha. Martha Jones..." Donna stiffened at that, the name...it was familiar, it was...important, it was someone important, "And she…she died."

Donna let out a breath, feeling tears prickle at her eyes for some reason...

"At least you got a hole-punch," Sylvia grumbled, "And a raffle ticket."

"Yeah, well they can keep the raffle," Donna spat, getting angry at herself, why did she keep having these funny moments, moments where she felt like something was familiar when it couldn't be, when she remembered things happening or people talking when it hadn't happened? It was starting to scare her and that made her angry, "I wouldn't take a penny off that man."

"Honestly, you two, there's aliens on the news," Wilf rolled his eyes at them, "They took that hospital all the way to the moon and you're banging on about _raffle tickets_."

"Don't be daft, Gramps. It wasn't the moon! It couldn't be."

"Yes, well, I'm telling you, it's getting worse. These past few years, it's like, all of a sudden, they suddenly know all about us and…there's keen eyes up there and they're not friendly."

"This stapler says 'Bea,'" Sylvia looked at it.

"Can't believe how well you're taking it, me getting sacked," Donna looked at her mother, needing something to take her mind off of everything, off the report, off Martha Jones, whoever she was, needing to change the topic from aliens, "Thought you'd hit the roof."

"I'm just tired, Donna. What with your father and everything. To be honest, I've given up on you."

Donna looked away guiltily at the disappointed tone in her mother's voice.

"...this further report just in, from Oliver Morgenstern," the reporter picked up.

"There was this woman who took control who said she…she knew what to do, said she could stop the MRI or something, Sarah Jane, her name was. Sarah Jane Smith."

Donna frowned, even THAT name sounded familiar too...

"Sarah Jane Smith was a freelance investigative journalist formerly of Metropolitan Magazine…" the reporter continued, bringing up photos of the woman, "Her body was recovered from the hospital late this afternoon. Miss Smith had a son called..."

"What's for tea?" Donna cut in, not wanting to listen anymore, not wanting to think about why the two women were so familiar.

"I've got nothing in," Sylvia sighed.

"I'll get chips," Donna smiled, thankful to have a reason to get out of there, to not have to sit through more reports, "Last of my wages. Fish and chips, yeah?" her smile faded though when her mother and grandfather remained silent.

"...along with his teenage friends Maria Jackson and Clyde Langer. It is feared that they also perished…."

~8~

Donna walked down the street, alone, depressed, her mind whirling with so many confusing thoughts, when a flash of light appeared in the alley before her. She flinched, stepping back as the blonde woman she'd seen on Christmas was propelled out of the alleyway and into the street.

"Blimey!" Donna rushed over, "Are you alright? What was that, fireworks or..."

"I dunno!" she gasped, "I was just walking along and...that's weird."

"You're the one! Christmas Eve, I met you in town."

"Donna, isn't it?" the woman glanced at her.

"What was your name?"

She smiled evasively, "How are you doing? You're looking good..." she looked down at Donna's shoulder, hearing a clicking noise, "How've you been doing? What have you been up to?"

"You're doing it again," Donna crossed her arms, trying to shake off the feeling that the woman's politeness was too...familiar as well. She was starting to get frustrated with why everything seemed so familiar to her yet she couldn't place a single one of them.

"What?" the woman looked up quickly.

"Looking behind me. People keep on doing that, looking at my back."

"What sort of people?"

"People in the street. Strangers. I just catch them, sometimes, staring at me...like they're looking at something," her eyes wandered back down to Donna's shoulder, "And then I get home and look and there's nothing there," she tried to wave at her back, "See, look, now I'm doing it!"

"What are you doing for Christmas?"

"What am I what?!" she shook her head at the woman for the sudden change in topic, even THAT was familiar.

"Next Christmas. Any plans?"

"I don't know, that's ages away! Nothing much I suppose. Why?"

"Just...I think you should get out. You and your family, don't stay in London, just...leave the city."

'... _tell your family to get out of town, just for one day, just for tomorrow. But you've got to get out! Just leave Pompeii!_...'

"What for?" Donna tensed, feeling a sense of foreboding creeping up on her.

Where had that come from? What did Pompeii have to do with anything?! Why was she even thinking of the buried city anyway? It's not like she'd ever been to Italy!

"A nice hotel...Christmas break?" the woman suggested.

"Can't afford it."

"Well, no, you've got that raffle ticket," she reminded her.

"How do you know about that?" Donna frowned.

The woman smiled, "I'm psychic," she shrugged with a small laugh, as though sharing a joke, but Donna was silent. She cleared her throat, "First prize...luxury weekend break," she looked at her, grim, serious, " _Use it_ , Donna Noble."

"Why won't you tell me your name?" Donna asked coldly.

But the woman didn't reply.

Donna huffed and walked around her, irritated, "I think you should leave me alone!" she called back, walking away.

The blonde woman didn't stop her but walked back into the alley where the blue light flashed again, Donna firmly ignoring it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you felt like the Doctor and Angel were still a big presence with Donna even in the parallel world, I really wanted to show how much of an impact they've had on Donna that she STILL remembers them somehow, even there :) And now with Rose there, well, let's just say the Rose we'll be seeing will be quite different from the show, both in what she has done with UNIT and what she does to Donna :)
> 
> But aww, poor Angel, we're getting near the end :( Oh boy...poor Doctor. Poor Donna. Poor Angel too :( But! Does anyone recognize the coat she's wearing? It's very subtle probably, I can hint it's more from Classic Who than New Who :)


	40. Turn Left: Stop

The Nobles parked in the driveway of a mansion house in the country, when a couple of footmen appeared, waiting for them, "Cor, blimey, that's what I call posh!" Wilf exclaimed, wearing a pair of antlers on his head as he unloaded the boot of the car. He smiled at Donna, "I said you were lucky, didn't I? I always said, my lucky star!"

Donna considered that, "I prefer good luck charm," she smiled at him. It had been a few months since she'd been fired, and things had only gotten stranger for her. She found herself saying things and going places that were just...weird. Like...every day, no matter where she was going, she kept driving past this building that had a 'coming soon' sign out front, some sort of Adipose Industries that was being constructed or something. It wasn't quite temping or an actual office, but it was like a call center, she could work there. She didn't know why but she found herself obsessing over that building quite a bit.

It was some sort of weight loss program that needed a headquarters, not that she believed anything would come of it, half those things were just tricks to take money.

But, that wasn't the weirdest thing. No, what was really strange was the dreams she kept having. She could hardly remember them when she woke, but...she always felt so sad, like she was so happy in them but then she'd wake up, back in her room, back to temping, and just...her ordinary life. And she KNEW there were people in the dreams, a man and a woman, a brilliant man and a kind woman, and...waking up to find herself without them... _hurt_.

"For God's sake, don't tell them we won it in a raffle," Sylvia hissed to him, pulling Donna out of her thoughts, "Be classy," she glanced up, "Dad! Take those things off!"

"No, I shan't! It's Christmas," he stopped one of the footmen from taking a bag, "Oi, I'll have that one, thank you. It's got my liniment in it."

Donna and Sylvia strolled leisurely up the drive, "I reckon we deserve this," Donna remarked with a soft smile, "It's been a hell of a year."

"Your dad would have loved this," Sylvia sighed.

"Yeah," she nodded, putting her arm around her, squeezing her, wanting to make her mum feel better, "He would've."

~8~

Wilfred's feet were sticking out from the end of his blanket as he sat, wrapped up, on the sofa, waving them in time with the music playing softly on the radio. There was a knock at the door.

"Oi, gramps!" Donna shouted from the bathroom, "Get that! That'll be breakfast. Croissants!"

Wilf shifted himself as Sylvia was tucked up in bed in a silk nightdress and dressing gown, making her way through a box of chocolates, "Why can't you get it, Lady Muck?" Wilf looked at his daughter.

Sylvia flickered through the channels of the telly, watching the Christmas specials and news reports and things, "It's Christmas Day, I never get up before ten," she nodded at Donna, "Only madam there was up with the dawn chorus, like when she was six years old."

Wilf rubbed his bleary eyes.

"I'm not wasting a second of this place," Donna called, "It's relaxing and posh and peaceful, like a little Leisure Palace," she blinked at that title, but shook her head, she'd been saying things like that so often now she just sort of...shrugged them off, "How was the sofa?" she looked at Wilf.

"Oh, yeah...not so good, really," Wilf groaned, standing up as he massaged his back, "You know, we could have paid for a second room. Oi!" he whistled and pointed at Donna, "Merry Christmas!"

She chuckled and pointed back, "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, dad," Sylvia grinned.

There was a knock again.

"Yeah, alright, come in, my darling," Wilf called, "Grub's up," he opened the door and stood aside to let the maid in with the breakfast, "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, sir!" the woman smiled, speaking with a distinct Spanish accent.

"We have interrupted your program to bring you breaking news," a BBC reporter cut in on the telly.

"Have you seen this?" Sylvia called, watching the television, her smile fading as she saw the news report going on, reading the captions, seeing the footage, growing more alarmed as it went on.

"Because I thought, nice early breakfast and then we'll go for a walk," Donna called over, "People always say at Christmas, 'oh, we all went for a walk.' I've always wanted to do that," the maid set the tray down her smile fading as she froze in fear, seeing Donna standing there, "So, walk first, presents later, yeah?"

"Donna, come and see," Sylvia waved her over, her eyes still glued to the TV screen.

"Tienes algo en tu espalda!" the maid called, pointing at Donna.

"What?" Donna frowned, eyeing the maid as though she'd gone mad.

"Donna, look at the telly!" Sylvia shouted urgently, a note of fear in her voice.

"Tienes algo en tu espalda!" the maid repeated.

"What does that mean?" Donna shook her head, "I don't know what you're saying. It's not like I've got a translator walking around..."

'... _that's the TARDIS translation circuits. It just makes it look like English and sound like English_...'

'... _you're talking Latin right now_...'

She shook her head, she'd never spoken Latin before, only her dad had, and even then it was just a little phrase. Whenever he'd come in from a football match, he'd say 'veni, vidi, vici!' and give her a big old hug.

"Donna, look at the TV!" Sylvia yelled, frantic now.

"Tienes algo en tu espalda!" the maid turned and fled from the room.

Donna gasped, catching something out of the corner of her eye in the mirror. There was something big and black on her back with a spindly leg, clicking away.

"For God's sake, Donna, don't just stand there, come and look!" her mother shouted.

Donna strained to see her back in the mirror, turning, feeling herself, but...nothing was there. She shook her head, it was the stress, it had to be the stress, everything from the last year was just...catching up to her, making her see things. She shook her head and made her way over to her mother.

"It seems impossible, but this footage is live and genuine," a reporter said as the family gathered around the TV, "The object is falling on Central London. Repeat: this is _not_ a hoax. A replica of the _Titanic_ has fallen out of the sky and it's heading for Buckingham Palace," footage cut to the live playing of a ship that actually looked like _the_ _Titanic_ really falling from the sky, "We're getting this footage from the Guinevere range of satellites..."

"Is that...a film or something?" Donna frowned, swallowing hard.

'... _well, apart from that replica of the Titanic flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day, I mean that's gotta be a hoax!_...'

"Or a...or a hoax, right?" Donna started to pant, growing scared, a strange sense of fear rising in her. Something was telling her that the falling object should have stopped, it should have taken off into space, but...it was just...falling...

The replica was only feet away from Buckingham Palace now.

"The Royal Air Force has declared anarchy…" the reporter tried to continue...

When the _Titanic_ crashed straight into the palace and the screen turned to white noise.

A few seconds later...the room shook from a blast outside.

"It's gone dead!" Sylvia tried to get the channels back, pressing the remote repeatedly, only to see static everywhere, "All of them."

Donna smiled nervously, "No, but the _Titanic_...well, don't be daft. Is that like a...sequel?"

Wilf ran to the window of the room and peered through it in horror, "Oh...oh, God rest their souls."

~8~

The Nobles gathered outside with other terrified guests and staff as they looked over at a large mushroom cloud that has replaced London, so large it almost seemed like it would block out the sun...

... _people watched in horror as the cloud of ash blocked the sun_...

... _the people panicked, screaming and running, trying to escape the town_...

... _the ash began to fall like black rain as they ran through the streets_...

"Oh God," Donna gasped, shaking her head, feeling tears in her eyes, "Not again..."

What again? What was there to say again to? That flash of...something...what was it? It had been more powerful than the last ones she'd been getting all year. She felt like she was physically THERE, like she'd been standing in the middle of a city, in a toga, watching as the sky went dark and the air started to fill with ash, choking her...the sky went black, just like it was doing now as the cloud rose higher in the air.

"I was supposed to be out there selling papers," Wilf breathed, his eyes wide, "I should have been there, we all should. We'd be dead."

"That's everyone," Sylvia shook her head, uncomprehending, "Every single person we know. The whole city."

"It can't be…" Donna whispered, swallowing hard, it _couldn't_ be.

This...this wasn't supposed to have happened!

"But it is, it's gone! London's gone!"

"If you hadn't won that raffle..." Wilf looked at Donna.

Donna's mouth fell open as she realized how lucky they all were. She didn't know why she'd done it. She was fully prepared to throw the raffle away, but...that woman, the blonde woman...there was something about her, her personality, her words, that was so...familiar to her. The way she'd spoken to her and just...her...there was something that made her listen, something that made her keep the raffle.

And it had been lucky she had.

She turned around, feeling someone's eyes on her, to see the Spanish maid pointing at her with narrowed eyes.

~8~

Donna, Wilf, and Sylvia sat, crowded around a small desk, speaking to a housing officer. They had lost everything in the explosion that wiped out London, their home, everything, and now everyone who hadn't been in London at the time, which was quite a few people given the recent stream of alien attacks at Christmas, had needed to be relocated, given food and shelter. The buzz of people talking and babies crying behind them, all of those families waiting for a new home like they were, just created a chaos around them.

"Leeds?" Donna gasped in horror, "I'm not moving to Leeds!"

"It's Leeds, or you can wait in the hostel for another three months," the officer before them said stiffly.

"All I want is a washing machine," Sylvia breathed woefully.

"What about Glasgow?" Donna tried, "I heard there were jobs going in Glasgow."

She was a temp! Supertemp! She could do anything and learn anything she needed to get any sort of job, but she just needed one to be available.

"You can't pick and choose!" the officer shouted, irritated, "We have the whole of Southern England flooded with radiation. Seven million people in need of relocation, and now France has closed its borders. So, it's Leeds, or nothing. Next!" she stamped the word LEEDS in large red letters on their papers and shoved it to them.

~8~

The Nobles sat in an army bus, being driven out to Leeds with the other refugees, straight up to a line of terraced houses. A soldier shouted through a loudspeaker to let the waiting families know where they were staying as they slowly moved out of the bus and over to the houses as they were called, "The Daniels family, billetted at number 15," the soldier shouted, "Mr. & Mrs. Obego, billetted at number 31. Miss Contrane, you're in number 8. The Noble family billeted at number 29."

"That's us," Wilf picked up their suitcases, "Come on, off we go. Oh. Alright?"

A woman stood in the doorway the next door over with her arms folded, looking at them with hostility, "Used to be a nice little family in number 29," she glared, "They missed one mortgage payment, just _one_ , they got booted out. All for you lot."

"Don't get all chippy with me, Vera Duckworth," Donna spat back, "Pop your clogs on and go and feed whippets."

"Sweetheart, come on," Wilf whispered, "You're being rude..."

Donna flinched at that, imagining another ginger woman beside her, saying the same thing, but to a man.

"You're not going to make the world any better by shouting at it."

"I can try," Donna retorted, shaking herself from her thoughts as they walked over to 29, only to find the door shut.

"What happens?" Sylvia asked, "Do we get keys?"

Donna shivered at that, hearing a screeching in her mind, hearing someone screaming in a raspy voice for 'my key!' before a wheezing noise echoed in her head. God that was really starting to get annoying now.

"I don't know, do I?" Wilf replied.

Sylvia looked around for help, "Well, who do we ask? The soldiers?"

Just then the door opened and a beaming man stood there, "Hey-ey-ey!" he greeted, smacking the wall with enthusiasm, "Is a big house! Room for all. Welcome! In you come."

"I thought this was _our_ house," Donna frowned.

"Is many people's house! Is wonderful! In, in, in," he ushered them into the narrow hallway just beyond the door, "We've been here for eight weeks already. Had a nice little paper shop in Shepherd's Bush, all gone now!" two little boys watched from the stairs as he explained the house to the Nobles, "So, upstairs, we have Merchandani family, seven of them. Good family. Good kids," he eyed one of the boys, "Except that one. You be careful of him," he burst out laughing and ruffled the boy's hair, "Ah, that's a joking! Where's that smile, eh?"

Donna had to smile at that, the man's excitement was refreshing, he was so happy to meet them, to meet new people, and they way he laughed and joked and rambled...it was...familiar to her. She should have been irritated with it, she often was when people just went on and on and on, but not now. Not after everything that had happened, right now she needed that familiarity even if she didn't know WHY it was familiar.

The man turned to them, gesturing to himself, "Rocco Colasanto. I'm here with my wife and her sister and her husband and their kids and her daughter's kids. We've got the front room," he looked at them apologetically, "My mother, she's got the back room. She's old. You'll forgive. And this, this is you. This is your palace!" he showed them the narrow kitchen with a curtain instead of a door, beds made up on the floor.

"What do you mean, _this_ is _us_?" Sylvia asked, a bit apprehensive.

"You live here!"

"We're living in the kitchen?" Donna raised an eyebrow.

"You got camp-beds. You got the cooker, you keep warm. You got the fridge, you keep cool. Is good!"

"What about the bathroom?" Sylvia frowned.

"Nobody lives in the bathroom."

"No, I mean, is there a rota?"

"Is pot-luck!" he laughed, "Is fun! I go wake mama. She likes new people," he pushed past them into the hallway, shouting, "Mama! Is people! Nice people!"

The Nobles just took in their surroundings with despair, "Oh, well," Wilf said heartily, "We'll settle in, won't we? Make do? Bit of wartime spirit, eh?"

Donna had to smile at that, leave it to her old gramps to try and cheer them up, to find the good in a bad situation. She felt herself starting to frown a bit, feeling like...there was someone else who did that as well. Someone...important...so important...but she couldn't remember who.

"Yeah, but there isn't a war," Donna sighed, "There's no fight. It's just...this."

"Well, America, they'll save us. It was on the news. They're going to send Great Britain _50 billion quid_ in financial aid. God bless America!"

~8~

The inhabitants of number 29 crowded around the TV in the kitchen, eating food out of tins, watching the news report, "America is in crisis, with 60 million reported dead. 60 million people have dissolved into fat. And the fat is _walking_ ," the footage cut to hundreds of white blobs of fat with faces, arms, and legs waddling down the streets, "People's fat has come to life and is walking through the streets," Sylvia watched on miserably as spaceships appeared and hovered over the buildings, beaming up the blobs, "And there are _spaceships_. There are reports of spaceships over every major US city. The fat is flying. It's leaving..."

"Aliens," Wilf mumbled.

"Yeah," Donna nodded, rubbing her head.

'... _Adipose. It's called an Adipose. Made out of living fat. Stripped from ordinary human_...'

'... _Matron Cofelia of the Five-Straighten Classabindi Nursery Fleet. Intergalactic Class_...'

'... _I'm waving at FAT_...'

She swallowed hard and pushed her tin away, suddenly not very hungry. She kept picturing a woman falling from a beam of light, hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

"The fat creatures are being raised into the air…" the report continued.

~8~

Donna and Sylvia were laying on their camp beds on the kitchen floor, the room lit with a few candles, "Mary McGinty," Sylvia muttered reflectively, "Do you remember her?"

"Who was she?" Donna asked.

"Worked in the news agent on a Sunday. Little woman. Black hair."

"Never really spoke to her."

"She'll be dead. Every day, I think of someone else. All dead."

"Maybe she went away for Christmas."

"Maybe."

"Mum," Donna sighed, "Please stop. Please stop talking about death."

She didn't know why it was hitting her so hard. Yes, she was devastated by what had happened, but...hearing someone talking about those who had died...something inside her just...wept for that. Like...the idea of dying...hurt. It wasn't like she was thinking of people who had already died but of someone else who was dying on top of that and it just...she couldn't bear it. It broke her heart.

"Why not?" her mother scoffed, "Everyone dies."

'... _you need a good death, without death, we'd never appreciate life. Dying makes us cherish everything_...'

She shook her head, not wanting to think on that, not wanting to think on the woman she heard speaking it in her head, "I'll go out, tomorrow," she changed the topic, "I'll walk into town. There's _got_ to be work. Everyone needs secretaries. As soon as I'm earning, we'll get a proper place. Just you wait mum."

"What if it never gets better?"

"Course it will."

"Even the bees are disappearing. You don't see bumblebees anymore."

'... _I looked, I found them all. Like that stuff about the bees disappearing, I thought, I bet they're connected_...'

'... _they keep saying we haven't got long to live, global warming, flooding, all the bees disappearing_...'

'... _1926, they've still got bees_...'

1926?! What was THAT about? Her mother hadn't even been a thought in 1926! What was she thinking about 1926 for? And...why did she keep seeing a giant wasp?

"They'll sort us out," she said, strained, needing to STOP thinking about that, needing to stop these thoughts and memories from popping up because they weren't HERS, they _couldn't_ be, "The emergency government. They'll do something."

"What if they don't?"

"Then...we'll complain."

"Who's going to listen to us? Refugees. We haven't even got a vote. We're just no one, Dona. We don't exist."

Donna sighed, hearing the sound of voices singing a drinking song carry over to them from the sitting room, "And I spent all my money on whiskey and beer..."

"I am going to KILL that man!" Donna grumbled, getting up and storming towards the sitting room, if just an excuse to get away from her mother and their discussion. She burst in, shouting, "Now, listen, Mussolini…I am telling you for the _last time_ , to BUTTON IT. If I hear one more SEA SHANTY..." she trailed off, seeing Wilf sitting in the corner, clearly having been a part of the whole singing fiasco.

"I always loved a sing-song!" he smiled.

~8~

The whole household, including Donna, and even Sylvia, were crowded in the sitting room, singing Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, "I'm just a poor boy from a poor family. He's just a poor boy from a poor family, spare him his life from this monstrosity…" they laughed, "Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, easy come, easy go, will you let me go?"

Gunshots rang out from outside.

"Bismillah! No…" they stopped, registering the sound of the guns, and looked at each other in alarm.

"Stay here, everyone, stay!" Rocco called, more serious than any of them had heard the man, making Donna stiffen at how he'd gone from so playful to serious in the snap of a fingers, again...there was that familiarity. Rocco, if he noticed, didn't say anything as he got up and rushed to the door.

Outside a soldier in a red cap shot at the back of an army van as it released exhaust. The whole street was clouded with smoke as the inhabitants of number 29 crowded outside.

"Hey-ey-ey!" Rocco waved at him, "Firing at the car is not so good! You…you crazy or what?"

"It's this ATMOS thing, it won't stop!" the soldier grunted, "It's like gas, it's toxic."

"Well, switch it off!" Wilf shouted.

"I have done, it's still going. It's every car. Every single ATMOS car, they've gone mad!"

Donna frowned at that, closing her eyes a moment, seeing her gramps sitting in their car, trapped in it, while the same smoke that was blowing out of the cars right before them filled it, the man choking...

Her eyes snapped open when she heard a clicking noise behind her, widening when the soldier seemed to hear it as well. He spun and turned his gun on Donna, "You, lady, turn around!"

Wilf and Rocco immediately moved in front of Donna, "Are you crazy, boy?" Rocco spat.

"Turn around!"

"Put the gun down!" Wilf ordered.

"Turn around! Turn around!"

"Do what he says!" Sylvia yelled, alarmed, "Turn around, now!"

"Turn around, now! Show me your back!"

Donna turned around, her hands up, to reveal...nothing.

The soldier lowered his gun, his eyes wide, terrified and confused, "Sorry...I thought I saw..."

"Call yourself a soldier?" Wilf glared, "Pointing guns at innocent women?"

But Donna didn't even register it because at that moment she saw the flash of blue light at the end of the corner.

"You're a disgrace. In my day, we would've had you court-martialed!"

Donna turned and walked towards where the light had been, knowing what it was, needing answers.

"Donna?" Sylvia called, scared for her daughter, "Where are you going? It's not safe at night! Donna! Donna!" but she made no move to follow her.

Donna walked around the corner, "Hello."

The blonde woman was standing there, waiting for her with a soft smile, "Hi Donna."

~8~

Donna sat beside the blonde woman on a park bench as she looked up at the sky as though waiting for something to happen, "It's the ATMOS devices."

"I know," Donna sighed, rubbing her head, "I don't know how I know, but I do. Why do I?" she looked at the woman, but she was just smiling at her.

"We're lucky it's not so bad here," she continued, not answering her question, "Britain hasn't got that much petrol. But all over Europe, China, South Africa...they're getting choked by gas."

"Can't anyone stop it?" Donna frowned.

"Yeah, they're trying right now, this little band of fighters...onboard the Sontaran ship...any second now..."

"Sontiruns?"

"Sont _arans_ ," the woman corrected gently.

Donna looked down, feeling like the word was just...too familiar, like she'd gotten it wrong before as well, so many times and always there was someone correcting her, just as gently as the woman was. And...she felt like she knew things about the aliens, they HAD to be aliens, like...how many fingers they had, what sort of neck (or lack thereof) they had, and...something about the back of their neck...

But HOW?

Before she could even think more on it, the sky lit up in fire as the calm was restored, the sky clear, the stars visible in the darkness.

"And that was..." Donna gasped.

"That was the Torchwood team. Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones," she eyed Donna a moment, "They gave their lives. And Captain Jack Harkness has transported to the Sontaran home world. There's no one left," she sighed, sounding tired and numb.

"That's wrong," Donna frowned, looking down at the grass.

"What is?" the woman turned to her, watching her closely, as though waiting for something, as though hoping for her to say something.

"It's not just them," Donna shook her head, blinking quickly, "There's...there's more of them, there's...two more...two others..."

The woman nodded, smiling, pleased, "Toshiko Sato and Owen Harper," she sighed, "They should have been there too...they would have been..." but they weren't anymore.

A phone call, one single phone call made too early, that had reached someone too early, had changed that. The two had survived, they'd been saved...but not anymore.

Donna shook her head, she'd never met those people, yet she knew about them, it was really starting to freak her out now, knowing these things and not knowing why. She took a breath and looked over at the woman, eyeing her up and down, "You're always wearing the same clothes. Why won't you tell me your name?"

"None of this was meant to happen," the woman sighed, ignoring the question again, "There was a man and a woman. This...wonderful man and this incredible woman, and they stopped it. The _Titanic_ , the Adipose, the ATMOS, they stopped them _all_ from happening."

"That...Doctor and Angel woman?" she asked, stiffening as she recalled the two who had died so long ago...she...she dreamed of them sometimes...

"You knew them."

"Did I?" she shook her head, she dreamed of them yes, but she did NOT know them, "When?"

"I think you dream about them," the woman eyed her, seeing her stiffen at that, it was almost like she'd read her thoughts, "Sometimes," she watched Donna closely, "It's a man in a suit and a woman in a white sweater? A tall, thin man, and a ginger girl, both with great hair..."

Donna shook her head, how had the woman known that?! It was weird, it was creepy, it was starting to scare her.

"Who are you?" she demanded, not wanting to talk about this anymore.

"I was like you," the woman reached out and took her hand, looking at her with such understanding, "I used to _be_ you. You've travelled with them, Donna," she smiled, "You've travelled with the Doctor and the Angel in a different world."

"I never met them," she shook her head fiercely, "And they're _dead_."

"They died underneath the Thames on Christmas Eve," the woman nodded, and Donna could see tears appearing in the blonde's eyes, and was shocked to feel something wet on her own cheek. She reached up her free hand and touched her cheek, feeling a tear on it. She looked up when she felt the woman squeeze her hand, "But _you_ were meant to be there. He needed someone to stop him, and that was Angel. _You_ made her see that the Doctor couldn't leave Donna. You were the one who got her to _make_ him leave. You saved their lives! And I," she blinked, tears actually falling now, "I can't thank you enough for that Donna."

~8~

_A red spider woman wailed in agony and pain as Donna looked on, a ginger woman in a white sweater stood beside her, her eyes closed, trying to deafen herself. She looked up to see the Doctor standing there, watching with a darkness in his eyes._

_"Doctor!" she shouted, making the woman beside her's eyes open, "You can stop now!"_

_The woman looked up to see the Doctor standing there, unable to do anything but watch the spider writhe and wail in sheer and utter agony with dark eyes, full of hate, "No…" the woman breathed before turning to rush up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time before reaching his side to stop him..._

~8~

"Stop it!" Donna stood abruptly, pulling her hand away from the blonde, feeling her heart racing, that image, the fire and the water and that man just...standing there...it was too much, "I don't know what you're talking about, leave me alone!"

"Something's coming, Donna," the woman stood too, slower, calmer, "Something worse."

"The whole world is _stinking_. How can anything be worse than this?"

"Trust me. We need the Doctor and Angel more than ever. I've…" she swallowed, "I've been pulled across from a different Universe, because _every single Universe_ is in danger. It's coming, Donna. It's coming from across the stars and nothing can stop it."

"WHAT is?" Donna asked, tears in her eyes.

"The darkness."

"Well, what do you keep telling ME for? What am _I_ supposed to do? I'm nothing special. I mean, I'm…I'm not…I'm nothing special, I'm a temp. I'm not even that, I'm NOTHING."

"That's _not_ true," the woman insisted, "You are brilliant, you're Supertemp!" she laughed as she saw Donna gape at her for calling her that name, that particular name, "Donna Noble, you're the most important woman in the whole of creation."

~8~

_The ginger girl looked at her with a smile on her face and a knowing look in her eye, "And I can tell, one day, you're gonna be the most important woman in the Universe."_

~8~

Donna blinked, shaking her head before giving a mirthless laugh, what did it mean when even the voices in your head were lying to you?

"Oh, don't. Just..." she shook her head, "Don't. I'm tired. I'm so...tired."

"Donna, please, I need you to come with me," the woman called as Donna walked away.

"Yeah," Donna turned to her with a derisive laugh, "Well...blonde hair might work on the men, but you ain't shifting _me_ , lady."

"That's more like it," the blonde laughed.

"I've got plenty more."

"I know you'll come with me. And I don't have to be Angel to see it," she nodded to herself, "But you'll only come when you want to."

"You'll have a long wait, then," Donna walked away.

"Not really, just three weeks. Tell me, does your grandfather still own that telescope?"

Donna turned back, startled, "He never lets go of it."

"Three weeks time. That's when everything will change. And I'm sorry Donna, I'm so sorry..." Donna blinked at that phrase, "I need help and only you can do it. I'll try to keep you safe, I swear I will, I HAVE to, I'll try my best but Donna..." she swallowed hard, "There are things at work and...I don't know what we'll find but we need to be sure. We need you to come with us when the three weeks pass. Please..." and with that one final beg...the woman disappeared into thin air.

~8~

Rocco hugged Donna goodbye, spinning her around, laughing, "And you! I'm going to miss you most of all, all flame-haired and fiery."

"Oh, but why do you have to go?" she frowned.

"It's the new law! England for the English, et cetera," behind Donna, Wilf closed his eyes, "They can't send us home, the oceans are closed! They build labor camps," he smiled.

"I know, but...labor doing what? There aren't any jobs."

"Sewing! Digging! Is good!" he kissed her cheek, "Now, stop it before I kiss you too much," and gave her another kiss. He turned to face Wilf, "Wilfred. My captain," he saluted Wilf who stood at attention and saluted back. The men shared an intense look that made Donna frown. The smile was gone from Rocco's face as Wilf's eyes grew red and moist. Rocco nodded and joined the other foreigners on the van.

"It'll be quiet with him gone," Donna remarked as she walked back to her grandfather, "Still, we'll have more room."

"'Labor camps,'" he said, his voice shaking, "That's what they called them last time."

"What do you mean?" Donna frowned, looking back at Rocco and his family in the back of the van, his arm around his sobbing wife, all of them _terrified_.

"It's happening again."

"What is?" Donna looked from Wilf to the van uncomprehending, "Excuse me?" she walked to a soldier, "Excuse me, where are you taking them?" he could only give her a grim look. She turned and ran after the van, "Where are you going? Rocco, where are you going? Where are you going?" the van turned a corner, "Where are you going?!" but the van was gone.

Wilf shook his head.

~8~

Donna entered the kitchen to see her mother sitting with her back to her, deep in thought, depressed. She closed the door behind her, "I asked about jobs, with the army. They said I wasn't qualified," there was no reply, "You were right. You said I should have worked harder at school," still nothing, "I suppose I've always been a disappointment."

"Yeah," Sylvia breathed.

Donna paused a moment, hearing it confirmed...she really was a failure...

' _Donna!_ '

She spun around, hearing someone shouting at her, but there was no one there.

' _Stop talking about yourself like that. My sister is nothing short of amazing!_ '

What? She shook her head, she didn't understand that, she didn't have a sister, she was an only child, always had been.

' _You can do this. I promise you. I know you can._ '

She scoffed, how? How could the voice in her head possibly know that? If the voice was in her head, it should know exactly what she was like...

' _Because you are absolutely brilliant. Right Supertemp? You know I'm right. You can't argue with a psychic you know._ '

She felt herself smile just a bit at that, at least someone believed in her...even if it was just a made up voice in her head. She wiped beneath her eyes before leaving the room.

There was one other person who believed in her as well.

~8~

Wilf and Donna sat, bundled up, in the yard in their winter coats, a little fire in a bucket before them. Donna rested her head against his shoulders as he sipped a cup of tea and looked down at his telescope set up, "You know, we'd get a bit of cash if we sold this thing."

"Don't you dare!" Donna shouted, before sighing, "I always imagined, your old age...I'd have put a bit of money by, make you comfy. Never did. I'm just useless," Wilf squinted through the eyepiece as Donna looked at him a moment, "You're supposed to say 'no, you're not!'"

That's what the voice in her head would have said.

"Ah, it must be the alignment," he muttered.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I don't know, I mean, it can't be the lens. I was looking at Orion, the constellation of Orion, you take a look," he moved to let Donna look, "And tell me, what can you see?"

"Where?"

"Well, up there in the sky!"

Donna peered through it, "Well, I can't see anything, it's just...black."

"Well, I mean it's working! The telescope is working."

"Well...maybe it's the clouds."

"There's no clouds!"

"Well, there must be!"

"There's not! It was there," he gestured up, "An entire constellation," as he pointed, the stars started to blink out, "Look...look there..." they watched as the stars disappeared one constellation after another, "They're going out. Oh, my God, Donna! The stars are going _out_."

Donna frowned, perturbed but not surprised as she got up and turned around to see the blonde woman there, waiting for her.

She took a breath and looked up, before focusing on the woman once more, "I'm ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww, I like how Angel still gets through to Donna even with her never having met her here. ALL I could think about watching this episode was how Angel would have been ranting at Donna to believe in herself and just...wanted to throw that in there :)
> 
> All I can say is, next chapter we're going to see a VERY different Rose than in the episode and the reasons why she was different in this chapter too :)


	41. Turn Left: Reverse

Donna and the blonde woman were being driven in a UNIT van, silent, the woman's hand gripping Donna's, which was a bit weird as she didn't know the woman at all, but...comforting too as she didn't know where she was being taken or why. Well, at least until the van pulled up to an empty warehouse. They jumped out, the woman striding purposefully forwards while Donna followed. She pushed a curtain aside and allowed Donna in to see a circle of mirrors with lights at intervals between them, a large blue police telephone box standing a short few feet away linked to the circle by a bunch of wires. She glanced at the woman, confused, only to see her staring at the box with a heartbroken expression on her face, which confused her even more.

"Loadstone testing now at 15.4," a voice called over the speakers, "Repeat: 15.4."

"Ma'am," a woman saluted, coming over to them, looking at the blonde.

"I've told you, don't salute," the woman said, irritated.

'... _oh, don't salute_...'

Donna nearly laughed as she heard the woman sound a lot like the second voice in her head, that man, huffing away. She saw a lot of that in the blonde woman actually...the way she held herself, how she spoke, she acted and sounded a lot like the two voices.

"Well, if you're not going to tell us your name..." the soldier remarked with a roll of her eyes as the blonde just turned to one of the computers nearby.

"What, you don't know either?" Donna gave a small laugh, at least it wasn't just her.

"There's too many different realities," the woman replied, "Trust me, the wrong word in the wrong place can change an entire causal nexus."

"She talks like that," the captain warned Donna, "A lot. And you must be Miss Noble."

"Donna," she nodded, holding out a hand, "Nice to meet you."

She looked over sharply when she heard the woman snort a bit and start laughing, "Sorry," the blonde flushed, "You just...reminded me of someone."

"Captain Erisa Magambo," the captain ignored the blonde and shook Donna's hand, "Thank you for this."

"I don't even know what I'm doing," Donna admitted.

"Is it awake?" the woman looked at the captain.

"It seems to be quiet today," she sighed, "Ticking over. Like it's waiting."

The blonde turned to contemplate the blue box, her arms folded, a soft, though sad, smile on her face before glancing at Donna, "Do you want to see it?"

"What's a police box?" Donna raised an eyebrow.

"They salvaged it from underneath the Thames. Just go inside."

"What for?"

"Just go in!"

Donna sighed and walked over to the box, casting the woman a strange look before stepping inside, "No. WAY!" she cried, laughing, as she stepped back out and walked around it, seeing it really _was_ that small before stepping back in...only to stop short.

... _she stood outside, in a wedding dress, with her mouth open, now noticing the size of the ship on the outside, a small police box_...

... _she paced around the outside of the box, feeling the walls in bewilderment_...

... _she completed her circle and popped her head back inside to check if she had been imagining it, but it really was just as big as she thought_...

... _she stumbled back, her hands over her mouth, it was too weird_...

She swallowed hard and shook her head, looking around at the space within. The room was dark, oddly silent, all the life and light sucked out of it. Donna closed her mouth which was still hanging open and looked around for a moment more, a frown making its way onto her face, this was wrong, this was SO wrong. The box, this room, it shouldn't be like that!

She...she couldn't bear to be in there any longer, not with the room as dark and silent and...dead...as it was...and so she stepped out again.

"What do you think?" the woman offered her a small, almost empathetic smile at her stunned expression.

"...can I have a coffee?"

~8~

Donna and the woman walked around the console, Donna holding a steaming cup of coffee as she eyed the wires spilling out over the sides of the panels, "It's called a TARDIS..."

'... _you're inside the TARDIS_...'

'... _she's called the TARDIS_...'

'... _it's an acronym, stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space, T-A-R-D-I-S, or TARDIS. You see?_...'

"Time and Relative Dimensions in Space," Donna murmured, "And that's SHE not IT," she insisted quietly before she closed her eyes, imagining a snowy world, an alien with tentacles lying half-buried in it, someone telling her it was a HE not an IT...

The woman smiled and nodded, "Angel always did that," she remarked, "Called the old box a 'she,'" she looked around, "And the box used to answer her, seemed able to understand her, talk to her..." her smile turned sad as the box gave a weak hum. She sighed, "This room used to shine with light," she looked up at the rotor, "I think it's..." she held up a hand as Donna glared at her, the ginger not knowing why she was getting so defensive of the old box, just that it was something important to someone important, " _She's_ dying," she reached out and rubbed the console as the rotor feebly lifted an inch or two, "She's still trying to help, just like Angel, just like the Doctor..."

"She belonged to the Doctor and Angel?" Donna tried to follow, gathering as much but wanting to be sure, setting down her tea cup on the console.

"They were Time Lords. Last of their kind."

"But if they're so special, what're they doing with _me_?"

"They thought you were brilliant."

"Don't be stupid," she scoffed, despite the voices in her head repeating that word, both of them calling her brilliant for so many different things.

"Well, you are!" the woman smiled and took her hands, squeezing them, "It just took the Doctor and Angel to show you that, simply by being with them," she looked down sadly, "They did the same to me. To everyone they touch."

Donna looked at her, "Were you and him..."

The blonde quickly shook her head, "No! No, no, no, I'd never do that to Angel, SHE was his Mate."

"Mate?" Donna frowned, it sounded so...animalistic.

The woman laughed, "I know, strange word to use. It's sort of like she's his wife…but _more_ than that. They're just…so connected. They're everything to each other. And Angel…" she shook her head, "She's the kindest person you'd ever find, fiercely loyal, very intuitive, she was like a sister to me."

Donna nodded, smiling softly, wishing she might have had something like that with someone, been a sister, an older sister, just so she could protect her younger sibling...maybe boss them around a bit too, "She sounds lovely."

The woman nodded, looking at Donna, her gaze drifting down to the clicking noise by Donna's back. She reached out and ran her hand over Donna's shoulder, "Do you want to see it?"

"No," she said quickly.

The woman squeezed her hand, "I'll be there with you Donna, I promise."

Donna eyed her a long while before sighing, "Go on, then."

~8~

Donna stood in the middle of the circle of mirrors where the blonde led her, "Angel gave me some lessons in how to fly the TARDIS..." the woman began.

'... _taught her myself and you trust me at least to teach her the proper way to fly you don't you girl?_...'

Donna frowned and glanced back at the box, had...had SHE learned how to fly the TARDIS too?

"I know the basics of it," the woman continued, not seeming to notice Donna's gaze, "With that, I've been able to help UNIT scrape at the surface technology, which I'm STILL cross with, by the way," she shot a glare at the captain.

"What?" Donna looked at her.

"They said they wanted to try and use the TARDIS to power the mirrors," the woman explained, "Enough to show you the creature..."

"It's a _creature_?" she blanched.

"I didn't know they meant _tear the TARDIS apart_ ," she gave the captain another glare, but the woman just rolled her eyes. She sighed and rubbed her head, "They're gonna kill me when they find out what happened to the TARDIS."

"Who'll kill you?" Donna shook her head, completely lost. The only people she could think of were the Doctor and Angel, and they were dead, weren't they?

"Just stand here," the woman sighed, not answering her.

"Out of the circle, please," the captain ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," the woman rolled her eyes and left.

"Can't you stay with me?" Donna looked at her fearfully.

"I'm sorry Donna," the woman looked at her sadly, "I'll be right here," she stepped be side the captain, "I promise, nothing's gonna hurt you."

"Ready?" the captain began before Donna could speak, "And...activate."

The machinery powered up and the lights snapped on one after another. Donna quickly screwed her eyes shut tight, "Open your eyes, Donna," the woman told her calmly.

"Is it there?" Donna breathed.

"Yeah, open your eyes. Look at it."

"I can't."

"It's part of you, Donna. Look," Donna slowly opened her eyes to see a _massive black beetle_ on her back. She gasped in horror and spun around, flailing as she tried to knock it off her, "It's ok, it's ok, it's ok, calm down. Donna? Donna? Donna!" she stopped, "Ok?"

Donna took a few deep breaths before looking back down at the beetle as it nuzzled her hair. She frowned, seeing it wasn't causing her pain, but hanging on to her...like a parasite, "What is it?"

"I don't know," the woman sighed, "I'm sorry. The Doctor would know."

"Oh. Thanks."

"It feeds off time, we know that much, the TARDIS helped us track it and monitor it. It...changes time, by making someone's life take a different turn, like er...meetings never made...children never born...a life never loved. But with you," she smiled a bit, "Great big parallel world!"

"But I never did…anything important."

"Yeah, you did. One day, that thing made you turn right instead of left."

"When was that?" she frowned, trying to think when that might have been.

"Oh, you wouldn't remember. It was the most ordinary day in the world, but by turning right, you never met the Doctor or Angel and the whole world just...changed around you."

"Can you get rid…of it?"

"I can't even touch it," the woman said, helpless, only able to look at it, "It seems to be in a state of flux."

"What. Does. That. Mean?" Donna demanded, sick of the techno-babble. She'd gotten enough of that from the Doctor and Angel wasn't there to try and explain it...

She blinked at that thought, she had to be going mad.

"I don't know. It's the sort of thing the Doctor would say! And then Angel would say something that just reassures you that everything'll be fine!" she laughed a bit though Donna seemed _far_ from amused.

"You liar!" Donna shouted, angry, her eyes tearing, "You told me I was special! But it's not me! It's this thing! I'm just a host!"

"No, there's _more_ than that. The readings are strange, it's...it's like reality's just bending round you."

"Because of this thing!"

"No, no!" the woman shifted, looking very much like she wanted to go up to Donna and hug her, comfort her, "We're getting _separate_ readings from you. And they've always been there, since the day you were born."

"This is not relevant to the mission," the captain murmured.

"Forget the mission!" the woman snapped, gesturing at Donna, "She's scared and upset and I won't have you stop me from trying to make her feel better," she glanced at the woman, still standing tense, staring at the beetle on her arm, "Shut it down," the captain stared at her, "That's an order."

The captain sighed, calling to her crew, "Power down."

As soon as the lights were off, she walked over to Donna, the poor ginger woman just shaking, "I thought it was just the Doctor and Angel we needed," she said, reaching out to take Donna's hand, "But it's the three of you," she smiled gently, "The Doctor, the Angel, and Donna Noble. Together. To stop the stars from going out."

"Why?" Donna breathed, a hint of terror and even anger in her voice, "What can _I_ do?"

"You're going to travel in time," the captain stated, walking over.

"No," the woman turned to her, dropping Donna's hand to cross her arms, "No she isn't."

"Ma'am with respect..." she began, rolling her eyes.

"We discussed this already," the woman cut in, "There has to be another way!"

"Another way to what?" Donna shook her head, confused.

"We agreed if the results proved OUR theory, that we would continue with OUR plan," the captain said stiffly.

"And I told you that no matter what your damned results said I'm NOT going to let you kill my sister!"

Silence fell.

Donna looked between the two women, stunned from both of them, the captain for apparently having a plan that would kill her and the blonde who seemed to be claiming she was her sister.

"I don't have a sister," was all she could think to say.

The blonde sighed, turning away from the captain, to look at her, "When you dream about the Doctor and Angel," she began gently, taking Donna's hand again, "What do you think of them as? Who are they to you?"

Donna blinked and frowned, she hadn't really thought of it but...she supposed...the Doctor was like...a pilot, like the one at the wheels, and Angel...she was sweet, and kind, and ginger, and...

She blinked, "Angel was my sister."

The blonde smiled and nodded, "The Time Lords, when they die, if they are quick enough, can regenerate. That means they heal, they change their faces. Before Angel was ginger..." her smile turned reminiscent, "She was blonde, like me. People used to call us sisters and...we called each other sisters as well. I was her younger sister," she looked at Donna, "She regenerated and became ginger, like YOU," she squeezed Donna's hand, "She used to call you her sister."

Donna nodded slowly, "I was the older sister."

"So you see," she nudged her, "We both have the same sister, makes us either half-sisters or step-sisters but still...sisters," Donna started to smile at that, she'd always wanted a sibling, and now she got two, "And that's why I CAN'T let them do what they have planned," she continued.

She had met a companion of the Doctor's before, jealously and fear had made her treat the woman terribly, but...they'd come to an understanding, developed a respect for each other and, she'd sworn, now that she knew she wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last (nor would she want to, the Doctor and Angel did NOT deserve to be alone) she had sworn that she would treat every single companion with the respect they deserved. Every companion had done something for the Doctor and Angel, and the newer ones had been there for the aliens when SHE couldn't be, that alone earned her respect and care. And Donna...she wasn't JUST a companion, she was Angel's sister, made her HER sister by association.

Donna shook her head, "And...what do they have planned exactly?" she looked at the captain.

"Donna no," the woman shook her head, "If you do that, you'll _die_!"

Donna looked down, she'd gathered that much from the woman's declaration that she wouldn't let them kill her, but...

"Will it help?" Donna began slowly, "Will it bring the Doctor and Angel back?"

"If you succeed," the captain nodded.

Donna looked down...

' _Donna..._ '

She looked up, over at the box, the voice was back.

' _The whole planet is choking, your family is in danger..._ '

She knew that, the whole planet was in ruins.

' _And now...YOU can be the one who saves them._ '

She took a breath, "What do you need me to do?"

~8~

The woman quickly took charge of the situation, not about to let the captain or any of her team explain to Donna what she needed to do, knowing that they'd get all technical and Donna needed to understand exactly what she was in for.

"The TARDIS has managed to pinpoint the moment time changed," she explained simply as Donna was suited up in a thick green jacket with loads of wires on it, "Monday the 25th, one minute past ten in the morning. Do you remember? Your car was on Little Sutton Street Ealing Road."

Donna frowned and nodded, recalling that, "Mum and I were arguing about a job, Chowdry or some Clements place."

The woman nodded, "You were meant to go left, get the job at H.C. Clements, but you turned right, heading for Griffin's Parade and got the job with Chowdry."

Donna scrunched her face, trying to keep up, "So...I needed to turn left."

She nodded, "That's the most important thing. You've got to go back and turn left. One minute past ten. Make yourself turn left, heading for the Chiswick Highroad."

She nodded, "Got it."

"Keep the jacket on at all times, it's insulation against temporal feedback," the captain told her, giving her a digital watch, "This will correspond to local time wherever you land," as well as a glass of water, "This is to combat dehydration."

Donna was led to the edge of the circle by several UNIT soldiers, the captain, and the woman, "I'm sorry Donna but...this is where we leave you," the woman said.

"I don't want to see that thing on my back," she cut in.

"No! The mirrors are just incidental. They bounce chronon energy from the TARDIS," she gestured at the box then the mirrors, "Back into the center which we control and decide the destination."

"It's a time machine!" Donna realized.

"It's a time machine," she nodded.

"If you could?" the captain waved.

The woman glanced at the captain a moment before turning back to Donna, hugging her tightly, "I'm so sorry Donna," she pulled away, her hands resting on Donna's shoulders, "The Doctor and Angel would be SO proud of you," she gave Donna's arm a final squeeze before stepping out of the circle again.

"Powering up," the captain called as the machinery burst to life, the lights snapping on.

"How do you know it's going to work?" Donna called.

The woman winced, "Um...we…we don't. We're just...we're just guessing."

"Yeah," she scoffed, with a bit of a laugh to it, that was all very familiar to her too, someone rushing in without a plan, making it up as he went, "Oh, brilliant!"

"Just remember, when you get to the junction, change the car's direction by one minute past ten."

"How do I do that?"

"It's up to you."

"Well, I just have to...run up to myself and...have a good argument."

The woman burst out laughing, "I'd like to see that!"

"Activate loadstone," the captain called.

The scientists hit a switch and the lights started to flicker on, the light on top of the TARDIS flashing behind them.

"Good luck," the woman offered.

"I'm ready!"

"One minute past ten."

"Because I understand, now," Donna nodded, tearful, but _so brave_ , "You said I was going to die," she looked at the captain, "But you mean this whole world is going to blink out of existence. But that's not dying. Because a better world takes its place. The Doctor's world. And I'm still alive!" she smiled courageously but then she saw the tears in the blonde's eyes, her face saying it all, "That's right, isn't it? I don't die? If I change things, I don't die? That's...that's right, isn't it?"

The woman frowned, unwilling to lie to her, she HAD told her she would die, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Donna."

"But I _can't_ die! I've got a future! With the Doctor and the Angel…you _told_ me!"

"Activate!" the captain commanded.

The lights increased to full intensity as a strong wind hit Donna. The beetle was visible again as sparks flew from the TARDIS, the mirrors, and wires, and Donna disappeared into the smoke. Only to reappear, on all fours, on a street. Still covered in wires and the jacket she looked up to see everything back to normal, the buildings back, people strolling around, she smiled and threw her hands up into the air, laughing…and then she realized…

"Hold on...but this is...I'm not...this is Sutton Court! I'm half a mile away!" she looked up at the sky, "I'm half a mile away!" she checked her watch, 9:57, " _Four minutes_? Oh, my God..." and she bolted off.

~8~

_Donna and Sylvia stepped out of the house and approached the car, "Jival, he's called," Sylvia said as she got into the passenger's seat, "Jival Chowdry? He runs that little photocopy business. And he needs a secretary."_

_"I've. Got. A. Job," Donna rolled her eyes as she got in the driver's seat._

~8~

Donna ran quickly down the road, panting for breath but unwilling to stop.

~8~

_"As a temp. This is permanent. It's 20,000 a year, Donna."_

_"H.C. Clements is in the City. It's nice. It's posh. So stop it," she started the car._

~8~

She paused by a lamppost for a second to check her watch before carrying on.

~8~

_A large blue van drove past as Donna and her mother waited at a junction in the car, "It won't take long, just turn right," Sylvia was nagging, "We'll pop in and see Mr. Chowdry. Suzette can introduce you."_

~8~

Donna sprinted down the road, panting.

~8~

_"I'm going LEFT!" Donna exclaimed, fed up, "If you don't like it, get out and walk."_

_"If you turn right, you'll have a CAREER. Not just filling in."_

~8~

Donna ran.

~8~

_"You think I'm so useless…"_

_"I know why you want a job with H.C. Clements, lady. Because you think you'll meet a man with lots of money and your whole life will change..."_

~8~

Donna stopped running, gasping as she cheeked her watch, 9:59, "I'm not going to get there," she stood up, almost giving in, when she remembered the blonde woman's words.

'You'll die!' she looked over to see the blue van driving up the road.

~8~

_"Well, let me tell you, sweetheart...city executives don't need temps, except for practice."_

_"Yeah," Donna sighed, "S'pose you're right," she switched her indicator light to right._

~8~

Donna looked at the approaching lorry, "Please…" she begged before moving in front of it.

The driver jammed on his brakes but it was too late…

Someone screamed…

~8~

_Donna and Sylvia looked over, about to turn right, hearing the screams even from the junction, "Can you hear that?" Sylvia asked._

~8~

The driver jumped out and waved at the traffic building up behind him to stop, "Hold on! Back up!"

"Oi!" a taxi driver shouted, "Get a move on!"

~8~

_Donna looked down the road, seeing the traffic building up to their right, "The traffic's stopping."_

_"Something must have happened!" Sylvia realized._

~8~

Donna laid motionless on the road, opening her eyes blearily as the blonde woman knelt beside her, taking her hand, holding it as she felt herself drifting off, "Tell them this...two words," she leaned forward and whispered in Donna's ear moments before her eyes closed and her head fell back to the side, the blonde woman never leaving her side.

~8~

_"Well, that decides it," Donna switched the indicator back to left, "I'm not sitting in a traffic jam. I'm going left."_

_And so she did..._

~8~

Donna screamed as the beetle on her back flailed.

~8~

"Doctor," Angel said quietly as she drew the Doctor's attention back from where he was looking at a small table of trinkets.

"You alright?" he asked her, his eyes filled with concern, he almost hadn't heard her she'd been too quiet, but he did, he always did.

She nodded, "Donna…" she swallowed hard, her throat dry, "She went in there…" she nodded towards a small shop.

He frowned, "Is it a feeling?" he asked her, a spark of hope shooting in him...

"No," she sighed, rubbing her head weakly, knowing, by the fall of his expression she'd dampened his spirits, "But I think the lack of sleep has made me paranoid…can we check on her? Please?" he nodded and they turned to head to the shop.

~8~

The beetle fell from Donna's back as the fortune teller cowered in the corner, staring at Donna in fear. Donna stood and looked down at the beetle as it twitched and died, "What the hell is _that_?"

"You were so strong," the teller looked up at her, "What are you? What will you be?" she crawled to the exit, "What will you be?"

"Everything alright?" the Doctor called as he and Angel entered the shop.

Donna looked at them a moment before launching herself at them, nearly toppling Angel over (had it not been for the Doctor's arms around her waist) as she hugged them in relief, "Oh, God…"

"Donna what happened?" Angel asked, pulling away, her hands on Donna's cheeks, seeing tears in her eyes.

"I don't know!" she shouted, just so happy to see them, before hugging them again.

~8~

Donna sat on the teller's box as the Doctor examined the beetle on the table, poking at it with an incense stick, while Angel sat beside Donna, her arm around her shoulder, trying her best to comfort her, despite the fact she was more leaning on Donna than the opposite, "I can't remember," Donna frowned, "It's slipping away. You know like when you try and think of a dream and it just sort of...goes."

"It just got lucky, this thing," the Doctor nodded at the beetle, "It's one of the Trickster's Brigade. Changes a life in tiny little ways. Most times, the Universe just compensates around it, but with you..." he smiled at her proudly, "Great big parallel world!"

'... _but with you, great big parallel world!_...'

"Hold on," Donna shook her head, getting a brief flash of a blonde woman smiling at her, "You said parallel worlds are sealed off…"

"They are," Angel nodded, swallowing hard as she wheezed a little bit, rubbing her chest, feeling like it was a bit harder to breathe, "But whatever happened...it created a world _around_ you."

"Funny thing is, it seems to be happening a lot," the Doctor remarked, "To you."

"How do you mean?" Donna frowned.

"Well, the Library and then this…"

"Just...goes with the job. I suppose."

"Sometimes I think there's way too much coincidence around you, Donna," the Doctor considered her, "We met you once. We met your grandfather. Then we met you again. In the whole wide Universe, we met you for a second time."

Angel smiled at Donna, absently stroking the woman's hair behind her ear in comfort, "Something's...pulling us together."

"Don't be so daft," Donna waved her off, "I'm nothing special."

"Yes, you are, you're brilliant," the Doctor beamed.

"You're Supertemp!" Angel cheered, squeezing her weakly.

Donna smiled…

'... _they thought you were brilliant_...'

'... _you are brilliant, you're Supertemp!_...'

"She said that," Donna remembered.

"Who?" Angel asked.

"That woman..." she tried to remember but sighed, "I can't remember."

"Well, she never existed now," the Doctor shrugged.

"No, but she said...the stars...she said the stars are going out."

"Yeah, but that world's gone."

"No, but she said it was _all_ worlds. Every world…she said the darkness is coming, even here."

"Who?" Angel repeated, frowning.

"I don't know," she shook her head.

"What did she look like?" the Doctor asked as he and Angel exchanged a glance.

"She was..." Donna paused, "Blonde..." before she looked at Angel, "Like you were."

Angel blinked, "How did you know I was blonde?"

"What was her name?" the Doctor asked, there was only ONE blonde companion, besides Jack and even then he wasn't a girl, he knew that had known Angel as a blonde.

"I don't know!" Donna huffed.

"Donna, what was her name?" the Doctor nearly yelled.

"Doctor," Angel cut in, reaching out to put a hand on his arm, calming him, before she looked at Donna, "Donna, please...try to remember."

Donna frowned, but thought on it, remembering how she'd been lying on the ground, the blonde beside her, "But she told me...to warn you. She said...two words."

"What words?" Angel whispered, "What were they?"

"Bad Wolf," Donna said after a moment as the Doctor and Angel's eyes widened in horror, "Well, what does it mean?"

The Doctor just rushed to his feet, Angel as well though she stumbled. The Doctor quickly took her hand to steady her and the two ran out onto the street, Donna running after them. Everywhere outside were posters, banners, flags, all reading 'Bad Wolf' over and over. They ran over to the TARDIS to see Bad Wolf written on the doors, on the instructions. The Doctor stared at them in shock when Angel wrenched the doors open and stumbled inside.

The TARDIS was red-lit as Donna slammed the doors shut behind them, "Doctor, what is it? Angel, what's 'Bad Wolf?'"

"It's the end of the Universe," the Doctor called, grabbing Angel's hand as she collapsed onto the captain's chair beside the console, panting.

To be continued...

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww, a very different Rose isn't it? I really wanted to show how different she could be without her near obsession with the Doctor :) Here she's really trying to warn them (and a little bit to see them again but not as much as in the show). I felt like, in the show, she was so obsessed with getting back to the Doctor that she was willing to do anything, even let Donna die to get here. But here, I feel like knowing Angel and the Doctor, not being in love with him, and being in the parallel world without them (and with Mickey, another companion who lost his pilot to talk to and who had already been there longer himself) has allowed her to mature and grow from her mistakes. She treats companions better because of Sarah Jane, she's more responsible with the TARDIS, more protective of Donna, and overall a more mature person than I think the show portrayed her. Like Mickey started to grow on his own because Angel sparked it, Rose grew as well with Mickey there to help her :)
> 
> But we're nearing the end now. Only 2 episodes left, this is where things start to get bad... :(


	42. The Stolen Earth: The Shadow Proclamation

The TARDIS appeared on the corner of a perfectly average street as the Doctor ran out through the doors, panicked. Donna followed. He let out a breath of relief at seeing everything was alright, perfectly normal, the Universe clearly NOT about to end at the moment.

"It's fine...everything's fine," he glanced over to see a milk cart coming down the road, "Nothing's wrong, it's all fine!" he turned and shouted to the milkman, "Excuse me? What day is it?"

"Saturday," the man answered

"Saturday!" the Doctor grinned, "Good!" he nodded, "Good, I like Saturdays. Mind you not as much as I've come to love Sundays," he grinned, thinking about the one event that could possibly change how he felt about the dreaded day of the week...Angel had been born on a Sunday.

"So...I just met Rose Tyler?" Donna frowned.

"Yeah," the Doctor said, looking around uneasily, as though expecting Rose to pop out of nowhere.

"But she's locked away in a parallel world."

"Exactly," he agreed, speaking very quickly, "If she can cross from her parallel world to your parallel world, then that means the walls of the Universe are breaking down, which puts everything in danger. _Everything_. But how?"

"Doctor…" a weak voice called.

He spun around to see Angel leaning heavily on the door frame of the TARDIS. He ran over to her, grabbing her around the waist to support her, putting a hand on her shoulder, such a familiar gesture from their time on the _Valiant_ that it broke his hearts to see her that weak again. She seemed just a bit stronger than on the _Valiant_ but she was fading so much quicker since Midnight. She was shaking and barely able to hold herself up now. How she'd even managed to make it to the doors on her own he truly didn't know and he didn't want to think about how much more that had taxed her already weary body.

"Come on," he whispered, leading her inside with Donna following. He gently placed her on the captain's chair before turning to putter around the console, pushing buttons, pulling levers.

Angel glanced down under the console to see the Doctor's hand was trembling slightly. She wanted to go and calm it down but...getting up just before, just to get to the doors, had nearly sent her crashing to the floor. She was just... _so dizzy_...the run just before hadn't helped, it just upset her stomach and made her head go all fuzzy. She'd just wanted to go make sure the Earth was ok too...and stood up...and the room had spun to the point where she'd had to sit back down for a few moments and try again, slower. The room was still moving a bit despite them not being in flight and there was a sort of...ringing...in her ears...

"The thing is," Donna said a bit cheerfully as she looked between the two of them, trying to remain upbeat and hopeful despite how much worse Angel looked and the danger that could come from Rose's sudden return, "No matter what's happening, and I'm sure it's bad, I get that. But...Rose is coming back. Isn't that good?"

The Doctor didn't react for a moment. He'd come to accept that Rose was in Pete's world and that life moved on, Angel had helped him see that, so to have Rose back was too surreal.

"Yeah," Angel whispered, her voice raspy as she smiled at the Doctor, "Because that means Mickey is too."

The Doctor's eyes filled with tears, already knowing where her mind was headed. She wanted to be surrounded by friends and companions and family if she were to pass on and not come back…Rose and Mickey were the only ones they _wouldn't_ have been able to get to, her sister and her first ever companion, and now...they were back. Oh he didn't doubt Mickey was close behind Rose, that boy would follow Rose anywhere though he knew now it was more of a protective instinct than anything. Rose was, for all intents and purposes, Angel's sister, Angel was Mickey's Pilot, Rose was important to Angel (and him and Mickey) and he'd protect her for Angel. He'd look out for the girl in the parallel world, because he could understand what it was like to be there without his Pilot. And he knew, if Mickey wasn't following Rose to try and keep her safe, then the boy was following her because, if she succeeded and came back, then he could come back too and see Angel again.

Donna smiled sadly, seeming to realize that too, about to go sit beside Angel and just...give her a big old hug...when the TARDIS gave a sudden crash and shuddered, knocking them all to the floor, throwing Angel right off the captain's chair and to the ground before the hand, making her groan, the wind knocked out of her.

"What the hell was that?!" Donna shouted, alarmed, as she pushed herself up.

The Doctor helped Angel back to the chair first and foremost, making sure she was alright, that she hadn't been hurt or knocked into something on her fall, before running to the doors, "It came from outside!" he threw them open to see...space...just outer space...with lumps of rock floating by.

"We're in space...how did that happen?" Donna frowned, looking out, before noticing the Doctor's shocked expression, "What did you _do_?!"

The Doctor ran back to the console and looked at the monitor, Angel pushing herself up to stumble over, wanting to look at it as well, leaning heavily on the console for support, "We didn't move," Angel read, squinting at the monitor, she was fairly certain that the writing wasn't as blurry and fuzzy on the screen as what she was seeing, "We're in the same spot..."

"It can't have...no," the Doctor shook his head before running back to the doors, needing to check again, but it was exactly like the scanners said, same star points, same distance from the sun, but the Earth had vanished, "If the TARDIS is still in the same place, then it's the Earth that's gone. The entire planet...it's _gone_!"

~8~

Martha Jones laid on the floor, unconscious, amidst broken and smoking wires that sparked while the people around her shouted in alarm, causing chaos. Her eyes opened dazedly as she lifted her head and looked around.

"Confirm all stations online," a male UNIT soldier shouted with a distinct American accent, "Can anyone hear me?"

"What _was_ that?" Martha rubbed her head.

"Emergency systems online," a female worker reported.

"Was there some sort of earthquake or..." Martha sat up and then pushed herself up, looking at the New York headquarters where she'd been sent on loan thrown into disarray, "Jalandra, are you alright?" she asked a woman next to her who seemed to just be coming around as well.

"Yeah, I'm ok," Jalandra said, getting up.

"Is anyone hurt?" Martha called to the room in general, slipping right into doctor-mode, "We've lost power, someone get the lights back on. DaCosta, see to it right now," she looked over to see a woman by the window, looking out, her body language telling her she was alarmed by something, "Suzanne? Are you ok?"

"Martha," she gasped, "Look at the sky..."

"Why, what is it?"

"Just look at the sky!"

~8~

Torchwood was in turmoil, papers scattered everywhere, equipment smashed, rubble falling from the ceiling as Jack clambered to his feet, pushing papers off him, "Whoa! What happened? Must be the Rift..." he ran out of his office yelling, "Gwen? Ianto? Are you ok?"

Gwen and Ianto were in an untidy pile on the floor amidst the mess of even more equipment and debris thrown everywhere, but alive, breathing, "No broken bones...slight loss of dignity," Ianto called back, "No change there, then."

"The whole city must've felt that!" Gwen said, getting up, "The whole of South Wales!"

"I'm gonna take a look outside..." Jack called, "Try and bring up Tosh and Owen, get their status."

Alarms started sounding as the door rolled open for Jack to run out.

Gwen and Ianto went to the computers, Gwen to check on Tosh and Owen who were out on a case, always together as they had been since surviving Gray's attack a month or so ago, while Ianto checked the readings for the area, "Little bit bigger than South Wales…" he breathed, staring at the screen in shock.

~8~

Sarah Jane Smith scrambled to her feet, having been thrown to the floor of her attic by the tremor, and her first thought immediately turned to...

"Luke?!" she spun around, looking for her adopted son, an alien experiment done by the Bane, a boy made of the DNA of 10,000 humans, quite the little genius and every bit her son, "Are you alright?!" she ran over to where Luke was crouched in a corner, pulling him to his feet, feeling his face to make sure he was fine and unharmed.

"Felt like some sort of cross-dimensional spatial transference," he said uneasily, making his mother smile a bit, he was so clever and brilliant, just like she imagined the Doctor might have been as a child. And, of course, that thought led to her turn to the window to see if she might spot a little blue box just outside...only to gasp...

"It's night!" she looked out, seeing the darkness outside, "It wasn't night! It was eight o'clock in the morning! Mr. Smith, I need you!" she turned to the chimney of the attic as it opened itself with triumphant introductory music and Mr. Smith, her computer that helped her detect alien activity to investigate, was revealed, "I wish you'd stop giving me that fanfare and just tell me what happened!" she huffed.

"Sarah Jane, I think you should look outside," Mr. Smith replied, "I think you'll find the visual evidence most conclusive."

Sarah Jane ran to the window.

~8~

Wilf held up a bat, standing outside his home with his daughter, "It's gone dark...it's them aliens, I'll bet my pension!" he yelled to no one in particular, "What do you want this time, you green swine?!"

"Dad…" Sylvia breathed, looking up at the sky.

"You get back inside, Sylvia. They always want the women!"

"No, dad, just look…oh, my God! Look at the sky!"

Wilf followed her gaze and clutched her hand in horror.

~8~

Sarah Jane and Luke stared up at the sky, "That's impossible!" she gasped.

~8~

"That's just impossible..." Jack whispered as he looked up, his mouth wide.

~8~

Martha and the rest of UNIT crowded around the window, staring up at the heavens, "It _can't_ be..." she shook her head.

~8~

The milkman stood in darkness, blinking as it had been sunny only moments ago. He stared up at the sky, frozen, as a wind billowed past him. He heard a faint buzz of electricity and a blue flash of light behind him only for a blonde woman, none other than Rose Tyler, holding an enormous gun, to appear there. She looked up at the sky for a moment, not at all surprised to see the sight that had stunned the entire world.

"Right, _now_ we're in trouble," she remarked, releasing the safety of her gun, "It's only just beginning..."

Up above, the sky was now packed with planets, all so close to the Earth that they could be seen by the naked eye.

~8~

Donna moved around the console, her eyes wide in horror, "But...if the Earth's been moved...they've lost the sun," she turned to the Doctor who was working feverishly at the monitor, trying to track the wayward planet down, "What about my mum? And granddad? They're dead? Aren't they? Are they dead?"

"I don't know, Donna," he murmured, "I just don't know. I'm sorry. I don't know."

Donna gaped, "That's my family! My whole world," she turned to Angel, rushing to her side, kneeling before her, taking her hands, "Are they dead? Can you sense anything? Anything at all?! Angel _please_!" she had tears in her eyes, desperate for _any_ sign that her family was still there.

Never before, not on all her adventures, had she ever felt THIS terrified.

"I don't know," Angel shook her head sadly, tears in her own eyes as she couldn't help but feel like she was failing Donna, "I haven't been able to sense anything for a while now. I'm just…useless…" she let out a scoffing laugh, actually sounding slightly bitter which was so unlike her, but it was all getting to her, the entire Earth was missing and she SHOULD have been able to sense it if she hadn't been ill, "Useless and dying, great combination eh?"

Donna quickly moved to sit beside her, hugging her to her side. She'd called herself useless often enough to know how bad the woman must be feeling, and it wouldn't help Angel to get all worked up. It would just cause her to fail faster. Right now she needed just as much comfort and, given how much Angel had been able to give to her, it was only fair that she give it right back as much as she could, not that she could do much. She felt...different...since the parallel world had been reversed, like...how she felt when she'd first started travelling with them, like...how she'd felt when Lance had betrayed her. But she was trying not to show it, not wanting Angel to worry.

"There's no readings, nothing," the Doctor shook his head from the monitor, "Not a trace. Not even a whisper. Oh, that is..." he stood and scratched the back of his neck, "...fearsome technology."

"So, what do we do?" Donna asked, shaking as much as Angel was.

"We've got to get help."

"From where?"

"Donna...I'm taking you to the Shadow Proclamation," he turned to her, nodding at Angel, "Hold tight."

Donna held onto Angel, trying to keep her from falling off the captain's chair as the TARDIS took off. The girl had hit the ground awfully hard before and she didn't want Angel to get hurt. Finally, it was HER turn to protect her sister like she always had her.

~8~

The AMNN news channel played with the headline reading 'Worldwide emergency, planets appear in skies' while the reporter spoke, "The United Nations have issued an edict asking the citizens of the world not to panic. So far, there has been no explanation of the 26 planets which have appeared in the sky."

The program 'Universally Speaking' played with Richard Dawkins, "But it's an empirical fact: the planets didn't come to us, we came to them. Just look at the stars, we are in a completely different region of space. _We've_ travelled."

Paul O'Grady turned to his audience, "Do you know what, I look up and there's all these moons and things, have you seem them? Did you see them?" the audience shouted 'yes,' "I thought, what was I drinking last night? Furniture polish?"

Ianto, who had been flicking through the channels, burst out laughing at that.

"Ianto!" Jack called, looking over from another computer, "There's a time and a place."

"He _is_ funny, though," Ianto replied as he turned off the monitor.

"Gwen, come and see!"

"Rhys?" Gwen was saying on the mobile as she headed down, "I have no idea, just stay indoors. And can you phone my mother? Tell her um...oh, I don't know, just tell her to take her pills and go to sleep," she paused, speaking reassuringly, "I'm gonna come home as soon as I can. I promise. I love you...you big idiot," she smiled and hung up.

"Someone's established an artificial atmospheric shell keeping the air and holding in the heat."

"Whoever's done this wants the Human Race alive," Ianto said, "That's a plus."

Jack just shook his head, not always. He couldn't help but think of Gray, how the aliens who took him had KEPT him alive just to torture him. He was SO thankful Angel had suggested he get out there and see the wonders of the Universe. Last he'd heard, Gray and John had decided to expand their plans to see the Earth, travelling via Vortex Manipulator to all the different generations of Earth, they were on New Earth at the moment. According to Gray, thanks to the Doctor sonicing up a video connection to John's manipulator last time they were there, who had spoken to him through that video connection, as soon as this old cat-woman who was running the planet heard Gray call himself Angel's brother, he and John had been invited to dinner and were being given a tour of the planet.

He really couldn't be happier the man was NOT there at the moment. He'd be even more worried than he was about Angel to wonder where his brother was too. If he was on Earth and not knowing where. He was already terrified something had happened to Angel and the Doctor, by now they'd be materializing somewhere on Earth and helping.

"I got in touch with Owen and Tosh," Gwen said as she headed over, "They're fine, Tosh got a bit of a bruise on her elbow and Owen cut his head when they fell down in the tremor but they're ok, they're on their way back," she looked over at the computer they were all gathered around where a 3D diagram of the 26 planets surrounding the Earth was displayed.

"27 planets, including the Earth," Ianto remarked.

A flashing red dot became visible in the middle of the planets.

"No, but what's that?" Gwen asked uneasily, "That's not a planet!"

~8~

Mr. Smith displayed a diagram of the planets in the sky, a red light flashing in the middle, "The reading seems to be artificial in construction," he stated.

"Some sort of space station, sitting in the heart of the web," Sarah Jane frowned.

"They're fine, Maria and her dad, they're still in Cornwall," Luke came over, his mobile in hand, having contacted his friends to make sure they were ok, "I told them to stay indoors. And Clyde's alright, he's with his mum," Sarah Jane rubbed Luke's shoulder encouragingly.

"Sarah Jane, I have detected movement," Mr. Smith said, "Observe."

The red light expanded now, looking like a pulsating sheet blanketing the Earth.

"Spaceships!" Luke grinned excitedly at Sarah Jane who could only smile nervously in response, knowing the spaceships could just as easily be enemies than help.

~8~

"Tracking 200 objects, earthbound trajectory," the New York UNIT captain reported as he stormed into the room, "Geneva is calling a Code Red. Everyone to battle positions. Dr. Jones…" he looked at Martha who had her mobile to her ear, "If you're not too busy?"

"I'm trying to phone the Doctor and Angel, sir," she replied.

"And?"

"There's no signal. This number calls anywhere in the Universe. It _never_ breaks down. They must be blocking it," she looked at the screen of the planets and the red light, "Whoever 'they' are."

"We're about to find out. They're coming into orbit."

~8~

There was anarchy in the streets as people ran, screaming, looting, smashing things, alarms sounded as cars sped down the roads. A man hung out of a sunroof, clutching his beer and shouting at pedestrians. Rose stepped out of an alleyway, holding her gun and made her way slowly down the street. A man with a drink in a hand spotted her and threw his arms out wide, "The end of the world, darlin'!" he slurred, "The end of the stinkin' world!"

"Have one on me, mate," she said as she jumped, hearing a smash behind her and another alarm. She turned and walked over to an electronics store, watching as two young men looted it, "Right!" she called, getting their attention, "You two! You can put that stuff down, or run for your lives," she released the safety again, "Do you like my gun?"

The two men ran for it at the sight of the large weapon and Rose moved to sit at a computer, worriedly watching the spaceship surround Earth from above as she turned it on, she needed to see what was going on and then contact Mickey, see where he came out. She had insisted SHE go first in the testing of their device from Parallel Torchwood, if anything went wrong, then they could fix it and Mickey could make the second go. She wasn't about to let him risk himself to do this, that was one thing both Angel and the Doctor had taught her, put others' safety above your own.

~8~

Sylvia sat watching the BBC news as the headline read, 'Unidentified Spacecraft heading for Earth' in her sitting room, "We're now getting confirmed reports of spaceships. The Pentagon has issued an emergency report..."

"Dad," she called, "Come and see. They're saying spaceships," she looked over to see her father with the phone to his ear, "Did you find her?"

"No," he shook his head, "No, there's no reply. Oh, where are you, Donna? Where are you, sweetheart?"

~8~

The Torchwood team watched as the spaceships loomed closer on the model on the monitor, "3,000 miles and closing," Gwen read, "But who are they?!"

Jack's phone rang and he quickly opened it with a grin, "Martha Jones! Voice of a nightingale. Tell me you put something in my drink."

"No such luck," Martha replied, a worried tone in her voice, "Have you heard from the Doctor or Angel?"

"Not a word. Where are you?"

"New York."

"Hmm, nice for some."

"I've been promoted. Medical Director on Project Indigo."

"Did you get that thing working?"

"Indigo's top secret. No one's supposed to know about it."

"Oh, I met a soldier in a bar. Long story."

"When was that?" Ianto asked, eyeing Jack suspiciously.

"Strictly professional," Jack reassured him.

"1500 miles, boys, and accelerating," Gwen called, "They're almost here. Where are Tosh and Owen?!"

~8~

"I'm receiving communication from the earthbound ships," Mr. Smith announced, "A message for the Human Race."

"Put it through," Sarah Jane said apprehensively, "Let's hear it."

A moment later...her heart stopped.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

~8~

Jack opened his mouth to reassure Gwen that the two members of their team were fine, when their computers picked up a message.

"Exterminate!"

~8~

"Exterminate!"

Martha's eyes widened as she looked at the computer in horror.

"Exterminate!"

~8~

"No," Jack breathed, hearing the Dalek cry.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

"Oh, no," he trembled.

"What is it?" Gwen looked at him concerned, rarely did _Captain Jack_ look that terrified, "Who are they? Do you know them, Jack?"

Jack could only pull them into his arms and kiss their heads.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

~8~

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Luke's brow furrowed in confusion as he looked at his mother, shaking in terror, silent tears running down her cheeks.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

"No…" she whispered.

~8~

"There's nothing I can do," Jack said hopelessly as he looked at the monitor, "I'm sorry, but we're dead."

~8~

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

"Oh, God you're…you're so young," Sarah Jane sobbed as she pulled Luke to her.

~8~

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Rose listened in, trembling slightly in fear, before she took a breath and strode purposefully out onto the street, looking up at the sky as a Dalek ship flew past her, so low it nearly touched the rooftops, firing missiles down onto the crowded streets. She turned and walked away, a missile landing behind her, causing an enormous explosion, but she didn't even flinch.

~8~

Hordes of Dalek ships swarmed the Earth.

~8~

"Dalek fleet in battle formation," a Dalek cried from the main ship.

"All systems locked and primed," a second Dalek reported.

"Crucible at 90 percent efficiency!" a third added.

"Human harvest will commence," a fourth cheered. The four Daleks formed a circle around a piece of machinery in the center of the room.

~8~

"Battle positions!" the UNIT captain ordered, "Geneva declaring ultimate Code Red. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are at war!" the staff were thrown around like rag dolls as another explosion hit outside. The air was thick with smoke and sparks as Martha ran to the window, seeing the Dalek ships gliding over New York, firing missiles relentlessly.

~8~

"Supreme Dalek on the bridge," a Dalek called.

A door opened and a large red Dalek lowered into the room, its voice deeper than average which was fitting as it was quite a bit larger than average as well, "Soon, the Crucible will be complete. We have waited long for this ultimate destiny. Now, the Daleks are the masters of Earth," it looked around at the spaceship, dense with Daleks, some in the air, some on the floor, an _army_.

"Daleks are the masters of Earth!" they chanted, "Daleks are the masters of Earth!"

~8~

The TARDIS shook terribly as the Doctor held onto the console for support, Donna and Angel grabbing onto the chair, trying not to fall off, "So, go on then, what is the Shadow Proclamation anyway?" Donna shouted as the Doctor tried to pilot with one hand.

"Posh name for 'police,'" he replied, "Outer space police."

"Donna," Angel wheezed, pointing a shaking finger, "That lever there..."

Donna nodded and hopped up, rushing to the console to pull it.

The Doctor winked in thanks, "Here we go!" he cried as the TARDIS gave a lurch, sending him flat on his back across the console as the box hurtled through the Vortex and towards a space station covered in buildings, glowing green.

~8~

The TARDIS materialized near a set of stairs. The Doctor stepped out cautiously with his arm wrapped around Angel's waist as she leaned on him, Donna following, holding Angel's hand, only to see a group of armed Judoon aim their guns at them. They raised what hands they could in surrender.

"Sco po tro no flow jo ko fo to to," a Judoon called.

"No bo ho so ko ro toe so," the Doctor answered as Donna looked at him oddly, "Bo-ko-do-zo-go-bo-fo-po-jo!" the Judoon lowered their guns, "Ma ho."

~8~

Angel sat in a chair as the Doctor and Donna stood behind her, the Shadow Architect, the head of the Proclamation, stood before them in a white room guarded by Judoon, "Time Lords are the stuff of legend," the Architect stated, eyeing the Doctor and Angel critically, "They belong in the myths and whispers of the Higher Species. You cannot possibly exist."

"Yeah...more to the point, we've got a missing planet," the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Then, you're not as wise as the stories would say. The picture is far bigger than you imagine. The whole Universe is in outrage, Doctor, _24 worlds_ have been taken from the sky."

"How many? Which ones? Show me!" he ran to a computer at the other end of the room, slipping on his glasses as Angel turned the seat to look on, Donna remaining by her side, her hand on the back of Angel's chair.

"The locations range far and wide," the Architect showed him, "They all disappeared at the exact same moment, leaving no trace."

"Callufrax Minor," he frowned, "Jahoo, Shallacatop, Woman Wept, Clom…Clom's gone?! Who'd want _Clom_?"

"All different sizes. Some populated, some not, but all unconnected."

"What about Pyrovilia?" Donna wondered, thinking about other planets that had 'disappeared.'

"Who is the female?" the Architect eyed her condescendingly.

Angel grabbed Donna's hand as the ginger looked down, "Donna," she said, looking up at her sister, "My sister, my brilliant, bold, beautiful sister."

Donna smiled at her for that, tears in her eyes.

Angel squeezed Donna's hand, "Remember what I told you about that promise?"

Donna blinked, thinking a moment, her head still a bit jumbled from that parallel world, before she felt a smirk growing on her face and she straightened, turning to the Architect, "Donna," she introduced herself as well, every bit of her spunk back in her voice, "I'm a human being. Maybe not the stuff of legend, but _every bit_ as important as Time Lords, thank you," Angel and the Doctor smiled at her. Donna nodded and turned to Angel, smiling at her, Angel had told her that, "Way back when we were in Pompeii, Lucius said Pyrovillia had gone missing."

"Pyrovillia is cold case," a Judoon remarked, "Not relevant."

"How do you mean, 'cold case?'"

"The planet Pyrovilia cannot be part of this, it disappeared over 2,000 years ago," the Architect stated.

"Yes, yes. Hang on. But there's the Adipose breeding planet too. Miss Foster said that was lost. But...that must've been a long time ago."

"Donna you're brilliant!" Angel cheered, beaming at her friend, before turning to the Doctor who looked a bit confused, "The planets...they were taken out of time AND space."

The Doctor's eyes widened and he started typing on the computer, "Let's put this into 3D," holograms of the missing planets started to appear throughout the room, "Now, if we add Pyrovilia...and Adipose 3...there's something missing. Where else, where else, where else, lost, lost, lost, lost...OH! The Lost Moon of Poosh!" he looked up when the last planet was put in and walked towards the center of the room as the planets shifted themselves into new positions.

"What did you do?" the Architect frowned.

"Nothing. The planets rearranged themselves into the optimum pattern," he looked at them appreciatively, "Oh...look at that. 27 planets in perfect balance. Come on, that is gorgeous!"

"Oi!" Donna called, "Don't get all spaceman, what does it mean?"

"All those worlds fit together like pieces of an engine," the Doctor explained, walking over to her and Angel, "It's like a power house. But what for?"

"Who could design such a thing?" the Architect shook her head.

"Someone tried to move the Earth once before," the Doctor responded, in thought, his arm absently moving to Angel, putting a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it as she rested her hand on his, "A long time ago...can't be…"

~8~

The Daleks swooped over the Earth, firing mercilessly at the people, "Maximum extermination!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh. My. God! We're near the end now! :O Only 2 episodes left! And I can say that there will be so much more coming for Angel. We still need the 'outer space facebook' meeting where quite a few surprises will be given and...what's this? Angel snaps...at Jack?! O.O And all this stress...it can't be good for Angel, not only is the Earth gone, but her friends and family are trapped on it, and some sinister plot is unfolding... :(
> 
> Oh boy, that's all I can say :(


	43. The Stolen Earth: The Tandocca Trail

Jack rushed to a computer as an alarm sounded, a voice calling over the comm., "The shields are down! There's so many of them! Abandon ship!"

"The _Valiant_ 's down!" Jack shouted in horror, for a ship like that, one so powerful, to be taken out...the _Valiant_ was one of Earth's top defense against alien invasions, without it...there really was no hope was there?

"Airforce retreating over North Africa!" Ianto reported from another computer, "Daleks landing in Japan."

"We've lost contact with the Prime Minister's plane," Gwen looked over at Jack urgently, having seen the next area of attack, "Jack! Manhattan!"

"Martha, get out of there!" Jack shouted into his phone, still on the line with one Martha Jones.

"I can't, Jack," she replied, a solemn note in her voice, "I've got a job to do."

"They're targeting military bases, and you're next on the list."

"It's like the Doctor said," she reminded him quietly, "Responsibility."

~8~

"Dr. Jones, you will come with me," the captain said from behind Martha, making her turn around, startled, "Project Indigo is being activated," Martha looked at him, stunned, her eyes wide, mouth falling open. Project Indigo wasn't ready yet! But the man didn't seem to notice, or didn't care, "Quick march," he turned and led her through the base with another UNIT soldier as guard should they be attacked on the way, clearly they were well aware they were a possible target for the aliens, till they reached a set of double doors. He walked through them and down another corridor at a brisk walk.

"But we _can't_ use Project Indigo," Martha tried to reason, "It hasn't been tested, sir, we don't even know if it works!"

~8~

The Daleks glided into UNIT's New York office, "UNIT forces will be exterminated!" one cried.

"Annihilate UNIT!" a second agreed as they began to shoot their lasers at everyone in sight. The soldiers tried to fight back but to no avail, their weapons were harmless against the Dalek shielding.

"Exterminate!"

Suzanne was shot, screaming in pain, before she collapsed to the floor, dead, the rest of her team quickly following her.

~8~

The UNIT soldier turned a wheel on a thick black door, which opened a secure storage safe. The captain gestured to the body pack hanging within, "Put it on. Fast as you can."

Martha moved over to it but heard Jack shouting through the phone, "Martha, I'm telling you, don't use Project Indigo, it's not safe!"

She winced, she hadn't even realized she'd not shut her phone off on the way, Jack had heard everything. And if Jack knew what Indigo was...he knew exactly how mad and dangerous it was to even attempt to use it.

"You take your orders from UNIT, Dr. Jones, not from Torchwood," the captain reminded her, seeing her hesitate.

"But why me?" Martha put on the body pack.

"You are our only hope of finding the Doctor and Angel. But failing that...if no help is coming...then by the power invested in me by the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, I authorize you to take this," he offered her a digital microchip encased in a plastic box, "The Osterhagen Key."

Martha shook her head, fearful, not even wanting to touch it knowing what it was, "I can't take that, sir."

She couldn't, because taking that...meant she knew what UNIT would want her to do with it. And she couldn't, she just...couldn't...

"You know what to do," he put it in her hand, "For the sake of the Human Race."

They heard a laser activate and looked around, "Daleks one five breaching north corridor. Exterminate! Exterminate, exterminate!"

"Dr. Jones…" the captain saluted her, "Good luck," he and the UNIT soldier turned and faced the approaching Daleks, firing on them, giving Martha time to escape, acting as a distraction and a line of defense for her.

"Exterminate!"

"Bye, Jack," Martha breathed.

"Martha, don't do it!" Jack shouted over the phone.

She closed her eyes and pulled the cords on the body pack, disappearing in blue light just as the captain and the soldier fell before her eyes, narrowly missing a Dalek laser that flew in her direction, disappearing before it could strike her.

~8~

"DON'T!" Jack yelled, but the line went dead. He lowered the phone from his ear, staring at it, before turning to kick a nearby desk in rage and frustration.

Gwen flinched, clearly Jack thought the worst had happened, that Martha...that Martha was dead. Where were the Doctor and Angel?! They should have been there, they should have seen this coming, stopped it, stopped Martha from having to use that Indigo thing, whatever it was.

"What's Project Indigo?" Ianto asked softly, sensing Jack's heartbreak at the thought of Martha having...died.

"Experimental teleport salvaged from the Sontarans," Jack breathed, trying to keep it together, but he just couldn't! Martha...she was so much closer to him than other UNIT soldiers, she was like Gwen and Tosh and Owen and Ianto, she was like a member of his team even if she was a UNIT member. She'd saved the Earth, all on her own, she'd had adventures with him, with Angel and the Doctor, and that united them in a way nothing on Earth ever could. And now...now she might be gone because UNIT rushed her, because they were playing with things they didn't understand and didn't ask HIS help to work it out, "But they haven't got coordinates or stabilization!"

"Where is she?" Gwen frowned.

"Scattered into atoms," he replied as Gwen stared in horror, "Martha's down."

Ianto put his hand over his mouth.

~8~

"Commence the landings," the Supreme Dalek ordered, "Bring the humans here. Prepare the Crucible."

A cold, calculating, but not quite Dalek, voice echoed over the comm., "Supreme Dalek. Is there news?"

"Earth has been subjugated."

"I mean...is there news...of them?"

"Negative. No reports of Time Lords. We are beyond the Doctor or the Angel's reach."

"Fascinating. If I had not elevated you beyond crude emotions, I could almost mistake that tone for one of victory. Beware your pride."

"The Doctor and his Mate cannot stop us."

"And yet, Dalek Caan is uneasy…"

A panel lit up to reveal Dalek Caan on a plinth, his top blown off and the mutant inside twitching anxiously, his eye drifting everywhere rapidly.

"The abomination is insane."

"Have some _respect_. Without Dalek Caan, _none_ of this would be possible. And he speaks only the truth."

"They are coming..." Caan said, his voice almost sing-song, "The threefold man, he dances in the lonely places with the shining woman. Oh, creator of us all...the Doctor and his Mate are coming!" he cackled insanely.

~8~

The Doctor and the Shadow Architect stood by one of the computers, completely lost but trying their hardest to work out what might be happening, while Donna and Angel sat on the stairs, side-by-side. Angel was leaning against the railing, curled up a bit, trying to cool herself down by placing her feverish head on the cold metal, her eyes closed, just trying to regulate her breathing. She as...scared...it was getting harder to get breath in her. She was breathing heavily at the moment, as though she just...couldn't get enough air in her lungs, and she was shaking, her stomach twisted painfully and her head was pounding. But she tried to keep it buried, she didn't want to distract the Doctor, not now, not when he _needed_ to focus on the Earth. So she bit her lip, trying to keep her face neutral despite how much she wanted to cry at how much it hurt, tried to keep the emotions from welling up and spreading to him. Any hint of her discomfort would send him rushing to her side and she knew, whatever plan the Earth was a part of, it wouldn't be good and they had to get it back quickly. It wasn't even a true feeling but just...a knowledge, the Doctor knew it too, to move all those planets...to risk all the lives on them...was a sinister plot indeed.

Donna sat beside her, her gaze on Angel, watching her worriedly though she found it hard to keep her thoughts from racing and drifting. She was so incredibly worried, not just about Angel, the girl had grown five times paler than normal since they'd left Shan Shen, but also the Earth, her family, her friends, her everything was there and now it was gone...and she wasn't there with them.

She blinked suddenly as a heartbeat sounded in her head...

When a bowl was thrust in front of her face along with one before Angel, the girl seeming to sense the presence in front of her and slowly blinked her eyes open, "You need sustenance," a young albino woman held out two bowls of water to them, "Take the water, it purifies."

"Thanks," Angel's voice cracked as she weakly took the water, her hands shaking as she tried not to drop it or spill it before putting it on her lap, despite how dry her throat felt...she just...she couldn't even stomach the thought of drinking water at the moment and she didn't want to attempt actually drinking it. She doubted the Architect would be pleased with her if she was sick all over her pristine floors.

"There was something on your back," the woman commented to Donna, eyeing the woman's shoulder.

Donna looked up in alarm, "How did you know that?"

"You are something new."

Donna sighed, "Not me. I'm just a temp. Short hand, filing, a hundred words per minute. Fat lot of good that is now. I'm no use to anyone."

Angel frowned at that, she'd seen a...change...in Donna since Shan Shen, she was quieter, like...after Lance had been mean to her. And she didn't like it, her sister was FAR too special to be left feeling like she was useless...like SHE was. No, Donna was brilliant, she was incredible, and fiery, and amazing, and fantastic, and she NEEDED to make sure the woman knew that. If it was the last thing she did...and it might just be...she was going to remind Donna of that.

"You're a use to _me_ ," Angel reached over and took her hand, "Where would I be...without my big sister?"

Donna smiled softly at her, despite the tears in her eyes when Angel tried to squeeze her hand but couldn't even muster it. Her hands were cold, shaking pale...so she put her other hand on top of it, wanting to keep it warm. When Angel had started getting worse, she had taken it upon herself to take care of her. She was always there for her, trying to get her to eat, trying to make her laugh and smile the way she always did for others, just watching her when the Doctor couldn't. They'd grown close over the months, she really _did_ look at Angel as a younger sister, had right from the beginning really, the fact that they were both gingers probably helped. Some people had actually assumed they _were_ sisters during a few trips, which they'd have a laugh about later.

But it was so nice to have one, she couldn't bear the thought of losing Angel, not now...it was one thing to know it was coming, to try and stop it, to hope for the best...but quite another to get to that point where it might actually happen.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," the albino woman said quietly.

"Yeah," Donna nodded, "My whole planet's gone."

"Mine too," Angel added.

"I mean the loss that is yet to come," the woman breathed, looking between Donna and Angel, "God save you," and rushed off.

"Donna, come on, think," the Doctor leaned on the banister as he made his way over to them, "Earth. There must've been some sort of warning. Was there anything happening back in your day, like...electrical storms, freak weather, patterns in the sky?"

"Well, how should I know?" she huffed, before sighing, "Um...no. I don't think so, no."

The Doctor nodded, "Oh, ok. Never mind."

"What about the bees disappearing?" Angel asked, the Doctor had never really paid much attention to that, but, at the time, something had struck her about it. Every time Donna had brought it up, something about it just got to her.

"The bees disappearing?" the Doctor frowned at Angel, "The BEES disappearing."

"It seemed...important at the time," she shrugged, not at all perturbed by his expression. She knew he was worried about the Earth, she was terrified for it, and she knew that he wasn't sure what to make of her words, whether to take them as a feeling or just...her grasping at straws. But, to hear that she had felt that way BEFORE her senses had faded...it was making him stop and truly consider it.

He paused a moment, thinking more, before his eyes widened, "The bees disappearing!" he ran over to the computer, now excited.

"How is that significant?" the Architect eyed them, casting a more...disgusted...look at Angel. Clearly the woman had issues with illness.

"On Earth, we have these insects," Donna said as she helped Angel over to the computer, swallowing hard as the girl leaned more on her than ever before, so weak it was almost like she were a doll just being pulled around, "Some people said it was pollution or mobile phone signals."

"Or...they were going back home," the Doctor grinned.

"Back home where?"

"The planet...Melissa Majoria," Angel stated with a small wheeze. What did it mean when the short walk across the room took so much out of her and left her breathless so easily?

"Are you saying bees are aliens?"

"Don't be so daft," the Doctor scoffed, "Not _all_ of them. But, if the migrant bees felt something, some sort of danger, and escaped...Tandocca!"

"The Tandocca Scale," the Architect gasped.

"The Tandocca Scale is a series of wavelengths used as carrier signals by migrant bees," the Doctor explained quickly, "Infinitely small, no wonder we didn't see it. It's like looking for a speck of cinnamon in the Sahara. But look!" he pointed at the screen, "There it is! The Tandocca Trail," a blue light streaked across the monitor, "The transmat that moved that planets was using the same wavelength! We can follow the path!"

"And find the Earth!" Donna cheered, her and Angel already at the TARDIS, "Well, stop talking and do it!"

"I am!" the Doctor called, running after them, he darted into the TARDIS and over to the console, setting controls to bring up the trail on the monitor as Donna sat Angel down on the captain's chair as she started breathing heavily, "We're a bit late. The signal's scattered, but it's a start!" he turned to Angel, kneeling before her a moment, taking her hands in his as he looked at her, "I just have to tell the Architect and we'll be off, you…" he looked at her meaningfully, "Just rest, no working on the controls yeah?"

She just shook her head, "The Earth is more important...don't worry about me."

He smiled softly at her, reaching up to brush some hair behind her ears, "I _always_ worry about you," he kissed her forehead, trying not to wince at how hot it felt, certainly warmer than a human would have been able to survive, and ran back to the TARDIS doors, sticking his head out to see the Architect and Judoon standing there around it, "We've got a blip! It's just a blip, but it's definitely a blip."

"Then according to the strictures of the Shadow Proclamation, I will have to seize your transport and your technology," the Architect stated.

"Oh, really?" he blinked, frowning, "What for?"

"The planets were stolen with hostile intent. We are declaring war, Doctor! Right across the Universe! And you will lead us into battle!"

"Right…" he nodded slowly, "Yes. Course I will. Just go and...get you a key..." he slid back into the TARDIS and shut the doors. He flung his coat over one of the Y-beams and joined Donna at the console. He winked at Angel with a smile, the girl returning it with a small smile of her own, before pulling a lever.

"Doctor, come back!" they heard the Architect shout as the TARDIS disappeared, "By the Holy Writ of the Shadow Proclamation, I order you to stop!"

~8~

"All humans will leave their homes," a Dalek ordered as the inhabitants of the houses along the Nobles' road were gathered outside, their hands behind their heads, "The males, the females, the descendants. You will come with us. Resistance is useless."

"Where are you taking us?" a man asked as he approached.

"Daleks do not answer human questions. Stand in line."

The Dalek moved aside, giving Wilf and Sylvia a view of the gathering from around the side of a house they were hiding behind, "Dad, please, come home, they're leaving our street alone," Sylvia whispered.

"Yeah, I've got a weapon," he countered, gesturing to the device in his hands.

"It's a _paint-gun_."

"Exactly. Them Dalek things, they've only got one eye. A good splodge of paint, they'd be blinded! "

"We're not going," the man shouted, pulling their attention back to the gathering, "Do you hear me?!" he turned to his wife, "Laura, get back inside the house. Simon, get inside. Go!" his wife and the boy hurried back to the house as the man picked up a brick and lobbed it at the Dalek, "Get back in the sky!" but the brick thudded on the casing, causing no damage at all, "Go back where you came from and leave us alone!"

The Dalek turned and advanced dangerously on the man as he scampered back into his house, "Dalek attack formation seven," three other Daleks lined up outside the man's home, "Maximum extermination!" the Daleks shot at a different window of the house, causing it to go up in flames, much to the horror of onlookers as the family within was trapped.

"They're monsters…" Wilf breathed.

"Please, dad, come home," Sylvia tugged on his arm.

Wilf sighed and allowed her to pull him away. They hurried back along the houses only to be stopped by a lone Dalek stationed there, "Halt! You will come with me."

"Will I, 'eck!" Wilf aimed the paint-gun and fired, smearing the eyestalk with yellow paint.

For a moment it looked like it had worked!

...but the paint boiled away.

"My vision is NOT impaired."

"I warned you, dad!" Sylvia hissed.

"Hostility will not be tolerated! Exterminate! Exterminate! Extermin…"

Suddenly the whole top half of the Dalek was blown off and left a smoldering wreck.

Wilf and Sylvia looked up to see Rose standing behind it with her massive gun, "Do you want to swap?" Wilf held out the paint-gun.

"You're Donna Noble's family, right?" she walked over to them as Wilf nodded, "I'm Rose Tyler, and I need your help."

~8~

"I tried calling her, but I can't get through," Wilf explained to Rose as he held up the phone in the sitting room of their house, "She's still with the Doctor and Angel, I know that much, and the…and the last time she phoned, it…it was from a planet called Midnight, made of diamonds."

"What the hell are you two on about?" Sylvia held up a pot of tea.

"Look, she's out there, sweetheart! Your daughter! She's travelling the stars with the Doctor and Angel. She always has been."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Oh, come on, open your eyes. Look at the sky. Look at the…look at the Daleks! You can't start denying things now!"

"You're my last hope," Rose said quietly, "If we can't find Donna...we can't find the Doctor or Angel," she sighed, "Where are they?"

She was getting worried, her comm. to Mickey had gone down with the last jump, apparently something had disrupted his own jump into this Universe and the comms. had been disabled. She didn't know where he was or what he was doing and now, not knowing how to contact the Time Lords...she needed to find them.

~8~

The Doctor and Donna held onto the console for support as Angel tensed, trying to stay on the captain's chair, when the TARDIS just...stopped, "It's stopped…" the Doctor panted.

"What do you mean?" Donna frowned, "Is that good or bad? Where are we?"

The Doctor looked at the monitor, "The Medusa Cascade. I came here when I was just a kid. 90 years old. It was the center of a rift in time and space."

"So...where are the 27 planets?"

"Nowhere. The Tandocca Trail stops dead," he rested his head back against a Y-beam, "End of the line."

Donna swallowed hard, "So, what do we do? Come on now, what do we do?" the Doctor was quiet, just looking at the screen of the monitor, seemingly defeated, "Don't do this to me," she shook her head, "No, don't. Don't do this to me. Not now…tell me what we're going to do!" the Doctor just stared wordlessly, hopeless…and it terrified Donna more than anything, "You never give up! Please!"

"Ah," Angel fell to the ground with a grunt, having tried to get up to go comfort and calm down Donna...and failed, holding her stomach as her face scrunched in pain. The Doctor quickly ran to her side, scanning her with the sonic.

He blinked, staring at the sonic in horror, "Your liver's shut down completely, your kidneys are close," he swallowed hard, "And your lungs are…"

Angel just reached out and put a hand on his cheek, making him look at her instead of the terrible results, "Find the Earth," she whispered to him, her voice shaking, pain she _couldn't_ hide any longer in it, "Please. There's _nothing_ you can do for _me_...but you _can_ find _it_."

"How?" he shook his head.

She gave him a small smile, "I haven't the faintest...but you will, 'cos you…are fantastic," he smiled at her, taking her hand off his cheek and holding it a moment before kissing the back of it. He jumped up and ran to the console, getting to work as Donna sat beside Angel who was just leaning back against the chair, unwilling and unable to try to pick herself back up onto it.

~8~

Gwen was sitting on a sofa beside Tosh, who'd arrived moments ago with Owen, barely managing to escape the Dalek siege unnoticed. Owen was currently going though every piece of alien tech they had that still worked, looking for something that could help stop or defend them against the Daleks despite Jack's claims that there was nothing they could do.

"This is the Commander General of the United Nations calling the Dalek fleet," a transmission came over the radio, "We surrender. Repeat: we surrender," Ianto put down a tray of coffee and fell onto a chair, devastated, "Planet Earth surrenders."

Jack sat on the floor with his back to the wall, knees drawn up just clutching his phone, praying for one of Angel's miracles.

"Humans selected for testing will follow Dalek instructions," a Dalek replied.

~8~

Sarah Jane sat with her arm around Luke as they listened to the Dalek, "The Daleks reign supreme. All hail the Daleks!"

She closed her eyes in despair. What sort of life would her son have now?

~8~

Wilf had his arm around Sylvia as they sat huddled together in the armchair. He kissed her forehead as she cried, "You will obey Dalek instruction without question," a Dalek said outside, "You will obey your Dalek ma…"

The Dalek's voice was cut off by a loud beep.

Wilf and Rose looked around to see what had caused it, only to find a laptop had sprung to life, white noise sounding, a familiar voice calling out, "Can anyone hear me? The subwave network is open, you should be able to hear my voice..." Rose ran to the laptop, "Is there anyone there?"

"I know that voice..." she gasped, kneeling before it eagerly, hoping to see the woman she thought it might be.

~8~

"Who's that?" Luke frowned as they heard the voice.

"Some poor soul calling for help," Sarah Jane sighed, "There's nothing we can do."

"But look at Mr. Smith!"

"Processing incoming subwave," the computer announced, displaying a vague female outline buried in the static.

~8~

Tosh leapt to her feet, hearing a voice, and ran to the computer.

"This message is of the utmost importance," the voice called, "We haven't much time. Can anyone hear me?"

"Someone's trying to get in touch!" Gwen exclaimed as she rushed to join Tosh before the computer, Tosh starting to type in codes to reduce the white noise and static.

"The whole world's crying out," Jack sighed, "Just leave it."

"Captain Jack Harkness, shame on you!" the voice scolded as the image started to clear. Ianto jumped up and joined the girls, Owen rushing over as well, "Now, stand to attention, sir!"

Jack quickly ran over, "What?! Who is that?"

The image cleared to reveal Harriet Jones, sitting in front of her computer, holding her ID card at the screen, "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."

"Yeah, I know who you are," Jack smiled.

~8~

"Harriet!" Rose yelled, "It's me, it's me! Oh, she can't hear me…" she looked at Wilf, "Have you got a webcam?"

"No," he gestured at Sylvia, "She wouldn't let me. She said they're naughty."

"Can't speak to her then," Rose sighed as she turned back to the screen.

~8~

"Sarah Jane Smith, 13 Bannerman Road," Harriet greeted as Sarah Jane looked over, "Are you there?"

Sarah Jane quickly moved over to Mr. Smith, "Yeah! Yeah, I'm here! It's me!"

"Good!" Harriet smiled, "Now, let's see if we can talk to each other," she pushed a few buttons and the screen divided into four squares, her in the first, Jack in the second, and Sarah Jane in the third, the fourth one still displaying static, "The fourth contact seems to be having some trouble getting through."

~8~

"That's me!" Rose cheered, "Harriet, that's me!"

"I'll just boost the signal," Harriet said, hitting a few buttons and Martha's face appeared in the fourth square.

"Hello?" Martha called.

~8~

"Doctor?" Donna called, her voice full of concern as she looked at him, her hand lowering from Angel's forehead, "She's burning up."

Angel winced as she breathed heavily, a thin layer of sweat on her brow, curling her legs up before her, hugging herself as she shook. The Doctor moved to rush to her side when she shook her head, "Find the Earth first," she insisted, "There's nothing...you can do but scan me," she looked at him, "Focus on the Earth," he hesitated, "Please..." she whispered.

He swallowed hard before returning to his work, working faster than before. The faster he found the Earth the sooner Angel would let him take care of her.

As soon as his back was turned, Angel's face scrunched as tears filled her eyes. She quickly lowered her head, resting her forehead on her knees so Donna wouldn't see her expression. She sniffled as quietly as she could, almost thankful that she was constantly shaking. Donna, with her hand rubbing soothing circles on her back, trying to help, wouldn't be able to tell the difference between shaking from the pain and shaking from the tears that were threatening to spill.

Everything was wrong!

She shouldn't be like this, she should be stronger, she should be able to push past the pain, to help the Doctor and there she was, sitting there, practically too weak to even move by herself anymore, utterly useless. She couldn't sense things, she had no more feelings, she couldn't even bring up the Vortex to try and stop the Daleks like she had the first time she was just...

Useless.

And fading fast.

She could feel it inside of her, it didn't matter if it wasn't a 'vision' or anything, it was just...her. Her body, her life, her weakness, she could feel that, she could understand it better than the sonic had. She could feel it happening within her and it scared her terribly. The Doctor was so hopeful that he'd be able to save the Earth, to save her, to have one of those days where everybody lived as he had had more of since finding her...not recently though...but she knew. Deep down she knew, he would only have time to save one and she refused to let it be her over the lives of billions of humans. She knew...when the time came...he would only be _able_ to save one.

She didn't need to read the Doctor's mind to know that the sonic said the same thing she felt.

She was nearing her end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the worst hasn't even begun yet }:)
> 
> Poor Angel, you really have NO idea how much it killed me to write her like that :( I should probably warn you...my goal since revealing Angel was dying was a tear every episode...these last two episodes, my goal is a tear every chapter }:)


	44. The Stolen Earth: An Outer Space Facebook

The Torchwood team laughed with relief when they saw who was in the last square, "Martha Jones!" Jack grinned, feeling his heart restart at the sight of her.

Angel would have killed him if he let anything happen to her best friend.

~8~

Rose smiled softly to herself as she looked at the lovely black woman, "Martha Jones," she repeated what Jack had said.

She knew all about the woman, that incredible woman, and all she had done for the Doctor and Angel and the Earth. While in the Pete's World, she and Mickey, when the stars started going out, had tried to find some way to research the Doctor and Angel, where they were, what they'd done since leaving. They had been able to transport themselves temporarily to this Universe, but they would always fade, be pulled back...until recently.

While SHE had focused on the current companion, Mickey had looked into the past companions that may have come between her and Donna, and she had to smile at the thought. Mickey had NOT shut up about Miss Martha Jones since he started digging into her story. It pained her a bit to think that Mickey had gotten over her, she liked the thought of being loved in that way, but they had both had a lot of time to grow as people, see the sort of people they were, and they were different than they had been before the Doctor had showed up that time so long ago. They were dear friends and that was all, there was still a fondness, but...they understood they just weren't right for each other and that there was someone out there for each of them.

She was 99 percent sure that Martha Jones would be it for Mickey. From what she'd heard of the woman, she approved, she was someone Mickey deserved, someone...good.

And, she'd also heard whispers that Martha had come to be Angel's best friend, which had admittedly relieved her just a little as she liked the title of 'younger sister' but she was pleased Angel had added more connections to her web of relationships. It would be fitting if Martha and Mickey ended up together, Angel's first companion and best friend.

She looked back at the laptop, tapping a few buttons, trying to hack into the subwave network. Mickey had showed her a bit but...for some reason...she understood the basics of piloting the TARDIS more than how to hack a simple computer...but that might have just been because Angel had showed her how and that girl always just had a way of knowing what to say and how to say it to get you to understand. She'd heard once that the true sign of understanding something was to be able to effectively teach it to others, well it was a testament to how well Angel knew the TARDISes that she had been able to teach a human even the basics.

She sighed, "I want to get through," she mumbled to herself, "I can help."

~8~

"Martha, where are you?" Jack asked.

"I guess Project Indigo was more clever than we thought," Martha laughed, "One second I was in Manhattan…next second…" she shrugged, "Maybe Indigo tapped into my mind, because I ended up in the one place that I wanted to be," she looked to the side as her mother appeared next to her.

"You came home," her mother smiled, "At the end of the world, you came back to me."

"But all of a sudden, it's like...the laptop turned itself on?"

"It did," Harriet nodded, "That was me," she held up her ID, "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."

Martha laughed, "Yes, I know who you are."

"I thought it was about time we all met, given the current crisis. Torchwood, this is Sarah Jane Smith."

"I've been following your work," Jack smiled at Sarah Jane, "Nice job with the Slitheen…"

"Yeah, well, I've been staying away from you lot," she nodded to her side where Luke was standing, "Too many guns."

"All the same...might I say, looking good, ma'am."

"Really?" Sarah Jane beamed, "Oh!"

"Not now, Captain," Harriet cut in, exasperated, "And Martha Jones, former companion to the Doctor and Angel."

~8~

Rose laughed, "Welcome to the club Martha Jones."

~8~

"But how did you find me?" Martha asked.

"This, ladies and gentlemen, this is a subwave network," Harriet explained, "A sentient piece of software programmed to seek out anyone and everyone who can help to contact the Doctor and Angel."

"What if the Daleks can hear us?" Martha asked nervously.

"No! That's the beauty of the subwave. It's undetectable."

"And...you invented it?" Sarah Jane eyed her, impressed.

"I developed it," Harriet said modestly, "It was created by the Mr. Copper Foundation."

"Yeah, but what we need right now is a weapon," Jack cut in, "Martha, back there at UNIT, what did they give you? What was that key thing?"

Martha held up the chip, "The Osterhagen Key."

"That key is _not_ to be used, Dr. Jones," Harriet glared at it, "Not under any circumstances."

"But what is an Osterhagen Key?" Jack shook his head.

"Forget about the key! And that's an order. All we need is the Doctor or the Angel."

"She's with the Doctor, for now," Martha said, a solemn tone in her voice that neither Jack nor Rose missed, a tone that made them both frown.

"Oh, excuse me, Harriet," Sarah Jane called apologetically, "But well, the thing is...if you're looking for the Doctor, didn't he depose you?"

"He did," she sighed, "And I've wondered about that for a long time, whether I was wrong. But I stand by my actions to this day, because I knew, I _knew_ that one day, the Earth would be in danger and the Doctor would fail to appear. I told him so myself, and he didn't listen."

"But I've been trying to find him, the Doctor and Angel," Martha added, "They've got my phone on the TARDIS, but I can't get through."

~8~

"Nor me," Rose sighed, rubbing her forehead. She should have thought of that, leaving a phone or something in the TARDIS.

~8~

"That's why we need the subwave, to bring us all together," Harriet nodded, "Combined forces. The Time Lords' secret army."

"Wait a minute…" Jack's eyes widened, "We boost the signal, that's it! We transmit that telephone number through Torchwood itself, using all the power of the Rift..."

"And we've got Mr. Smith!" Luke added, "He can link up with every telephone exchange on the Earth. He can get the whole world to call the same number, all at the same time. Billions of phones calling out, all at once!"

"Ha ha, brilliant!" Jack smiled, thinking of what the Doctor had thought to do with the Archangel Network, "Who's the kid?"

"That's my son!" Sarah Jane said, proud.

"Excuse me," Ianto shuffled forward into the camera, "Sorry. Sorry. Hello. Ianto Jones. Um, if we start transmitting, then the subwave network is going to become...visible."

"He's right," Tosh nodded, having been monitoring the broadcast on the computers, "Just the slightest increase more and it won't be a subwave any longer, the Daleks will pick it up."

"Yes, and they'll trace it back to me, but my life doesn't matter," Harriet replied, grim, "Not if it saves the Earth."

"Ma'am," Jack saluted.

"Thank you, Captain. But there are people out there, dying, on the streets."

~8~

"Ah, marvelous woman," Wilf smiled as he and Sylvia listened in from the sofa, "I voted for her."

"You did not!" Sylvia hissed.

"Now, enough of words," Harriet said, "Let's begin," she started typing away, Rose watching as the Torchwood team turned and got to work, dashing around the terminals.

"Rift power activated!" Jack reported.

"All terminals coordinated," Tosh replied as Gwen went to help Ianto with a bunch of wires, connecting them.

"Everything's set over here," Gwen added.

"National Grid online," Ianto nodded.

"Giving you everything we've got!" Owen called, reading the machine as it powered up.

Sarah Jane and Luke burst into action, setting up Mr. Smith's controls, "Connecting you to Mr. Smith!" Sarah Jane reported.

"All telephone networks combined!" Luke smiled.

"Sending you the number...now!" Martha picked up her phone, sending out the number.

"Opening subwave network to maximum," Harriet nodded.

Sarah Jane and Luke moved back, "Mr. Smith...make that call!" Sarah Jane beamed.

"Calling...the Doctor," Mr. Smith said.

"So am I," Rose whispered, picking up her phone, seeing the number on the screen.

"And...sending!" Jack pushed down a lever as rings of electric blue light traveled slowly up from Torchwood and out into space.

~8~

The Doctor looked over as a mobile began to ring, "PHONE!" he yelled, rushing to it.

"Doctor, phone!" Donna called.

He swiped it up, "Martha, is that you?!" he paused, listening to a beeping noise on the other end, "It's a signal..."

"Can you track it?" Angel asked him, looking up.

"Oh, just watch me," he put the stethoscope to the phone and pressed it onto the monitor.

~8~

"Emergency!" a Dalek reported, "Unknown network detected, subwave frequency!"

"Find the point of origin!" the Supreme Dalek ordered, "Find and exterminate!"

"I warned you, Supreme One," the sinister voice called over the comm., "Just as Dalek Caan foretold. The Children of Time are moving against us. But everything is falling into place."

~8~

Equipment exploded and sparked in Torchwood as Jack called, "I think we've got a fix!"

"Mr. Smith now at 200 percent!" Sarah Jane reported, hopping back as sparks flew out of the computer, "Oh, come on, Doctor, Angel!"

Rose stood in the sitting room, Wilf and Sylvia beside her as they dialed the number on their mobiles, ignoring, for the moment, the commotion going on in the laptop behind them. She held hers high above her head, "Find me, Doctor. Find me Angel. Please."

~8~

"Got it!" the Doctor grinned, "Locking on!" he pulled a lever, causing a jerk that sent him and Donna to the floor beside Angel. He quickly shuffled to her, holding on to try and make her less jostled as sparks flew from the console.

~8~

Jack called over Owen to take his place at the terminal as he went to help Ianto.

"Harriet, an alien signal locked on to your location," Tosh reported.

Gwen ran over, her eyes scanning the readings, "They've found you!"

"I know," Harriet nodded, still typing away, "I'm using the network to mask your transmission. Keep going!"

"Exterminate!" a Dalek shouted from outside Harriet's home before a hole was blasted in the side of the room, she didn't even blink, just kept typing.

Gwen and Tosh frowned at each other but kept working.

~8~

The whole console burst into flames as the TARDIS shook.

Donna gasped as Angel groaned, this was really _not_ helping at all. Not only was the shaking and the smoke and everything getting to her but...even now she STILL was, in some small way, connected to the TARDIS, just as she had been on the _Valiant_ , this wasn't helping the box...it wasn't helping her either.

"We're travelling through time!" the Doctor yelled to Donna over the noise, "One second in the future! The phone call's pulling us through!"

~8~

"Captain, I'm transferring the subwave network to Torchwood," Harriet pushed a button, "You're in charge, now. And tell the Doctor from me...he chose his companions well," Jack gave a sad nod, "It's been an honor," she got up and turned to face the Daleks, holding up her ID card, "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."

"Yes, we know who you are," a Dalek stated.

"Oh, you know nothing of any human. And _that_ will be your downfall."

"Exterminate!"

Harriet braced herself...and her square went to static.

~8~

"THREE!" the Doctor cheered, "TWO! ONE!"

They all held on tight as the TARDIS tore through space, slowing down as the planets came into sight around it. Slowly the fires began to die down as the TARDIS calmed. The Doctor and Donna stared at the monitor a moment, able to see it from their spot by Angel, "The 27 planets!" Donna beamed, seeing them on the screen, "And there's the Earth! But why couldn't we see it?"

"The entire Medusa Cascade has been put a second out of sync with the rest of the Universe. Perfect hiding place, tiny little pocket of time. But we found them!"

"Bucket," Angel groaned. The Doctor quickly turned and pulled up a grille, taking a bucket out, setting it before Angel and grabbing her braid as she heaved the empty contents of her stomach into it, Donna patting her back comfortingly as the woman shook beneath her hand. All that shaking...hadn't been good for her.

A beep went off as the screen of the monitor went to static, "Oh, oh...what's that?" the Doctor murmured, "Hold on, hold on..." he turned to Angel who had moved her arm onto the edge of the bucket, resting her forehead on her arm as she shuddered, "You just…just relax," he told her, swallowing hard at seeing her in such a state, "Settle, yeah?" she nodded weakly as he got up, heading to the console and turned a knob, peering at the monitor, "Some sort of...subwave network."

Donna got up as well to look at the monitor as the image cleared to reveal four squares. Jack stood before the small team of Torchwood, Gwen and Ianto on either side of him, Tosh and Owen behind them in the first box, followed by Sarah Jane and Luke in the second, Martha Jones and her mother in the third and Donna and himself in the last one.

Jack laughed a moment before his eyes narrowed, "Where the hell have you been?! Doctor it's…" and then he blinked, tensing, "Where's Angel?" everyone looked at each other as the Doctor grew solemn, "Doctor…where is she?!"

"I'm here," a weak voice called from off screen. They watched as Donna darted off screen and came back, supporting Angel. Their eyes widened, seeing her in such a horrible state, she truly looked like death had warmed over. She was pale, thin, there were bags under her eyes, she was wearing a pink jacket and white scarf on top of her sweater, shivering even though she was sweating, "Hello...everyone," she smiled weakly at them, "Tosh, Owen...nice to see you again."

Tosh looked close to tears as she stared at the woman who had been responsible for saving her and Owen's lives. Owen had gotten trapped in a room about to be flooded with radiation while she'd lied dying of a wound to her stomach. She'd been crying, unable to help him when, moments before the radiation was to hit, there was a wheezing sound over the comm.. She'd been stunned, calling out frantic when the radiation hit but Owen hadn't responded. And then a blue police box had materialized a few feet away from her. The doors flew open and Owen rushed out along with the two ginger women and the Doctor, carrying a medical bag. They'd gotten to work patching her up just as Jack, Gwen, and Ianto had rushed in with Captain John. Not only that, but the girl had somehow managed to snap Jack's brother Gray out of the darkness he'd fallen into, but the Doctor had said that Angel always did that, she was just...the light in the darkness.

"Angel…" Martha smiled at her with tears in her eyes, "How are you?"

"I think that visit...will be happening soon Martha," was all she could say.

Martha gasped, tears falling from her eyes now.

"Angie," Jack called, frowning, not liking the sound of that, just knowing something was wrong, "What happened?"

Angel looked down, not wanting to talk, not wanting to say, not wanting to tell him...

"She's dying," Donna said softly for her.

~8~

Rose gasped, her eyes wide, her hand flying to her mouth, as she heard the news of the woman she'd come to look at as an older sister.

~8~

"What?" Jack gasped, his eyes wide, before his jaw tensed and his eyes narrowed, "What do you mean she's _dying_!?" he shouted, "What the hell have you been doing Doctor?! You were supposed to protect her!"

"Jack..." Angel began.

"She's dying like she was on the _Valiant_ ," the Doctor defended, "It's not my fault..."

"The hell it isn't!" Jack yelled, making the Torchwood team jump at the sound of it, "You had the chance to stop the Master! You could have done something to the Paradox Machine before it started! You could have killed him in the past, I know you've fought him more than just that once!"

"Jack, please," Angel tried again.

"How long has this been going on?" Jack glared, "How could you just let her die like this and not do anything about it!? You're a _doctor_ for god's sake! Have you even tried to help her?!"

"Jack!" Angel snapped suddenly, "Stop it!" Jack fell quiet at that, Angel had rarely, _if ever_ , snapped at him like that, "Please, just...stop it," she added in a whisper and they could all see the tears in her eyes, " _Please._ "

Jack swallowed hard, "I'm sorry Ang," he whispered back.

"The Doctor has done..." she shook her head, " _Everything_. Everything he could think of. He's tried...everything. But nothing...nothing works. And this..." she nodded at him on the screen, "Is why I didn't tell you...when we helped stop Gray."

Jack let out a breath, feeling like he'd been punched in the stomach as the horrible realization fell on him that Angel...she'd been dying when he'd seen her last. She'd felt a little warm yeah, but...he just thought it was a result of all the running and time travelling and then she'd healed Gray somewhat, not completely. He still had scars, he still had nightmares, he still had a darkness in him but...he just...wasn't so angry anymore. But still...he'd just thought it was all of that and now, to find out she was dying and he...he hadn't noticed. He'd just let her get back in the TARDIS and fly away, hadn't had Owen check on her, hadn't tried to use any of the tech they had to save her...

He'd already lost Gray as a child, lost him again as an adult only to have Angel bring him back. And now...he was losing his baby sister and...he truly didn't know who would bring her back. He was well aware of the possibility that Angel wouldn't regenerate on the _Valiant_...and if she was dying the _same way_...

"Sorry," he murmured, looking at the Doctor who nodded.

Angel nodded back, "Good...now...enough about me," she winced as she coughed a bit, knowing she needed to change the topic and soon, "What happened?"

Jack shook his head, taking a breath, knowing Angel would be even more upset if they ignored the threat against the Earth in favor of worrying about her, "It's the Daleks."

"They're taking people to their spaceship," Sarah Jane added quietly, all of them far more solemn now that they knew WHY the Time Lords hadn't been there, Angel had been dying and hadn't sensed it coming, and the Doctor...they could barely stand to talk of the Earth with the woman looking as ill as she was, they couldn't blame him for not noticing anything happening when he was worrying about her.

"But it's not just Dalek Caan," Martha continued, her and Sarah Jane starting to talk at once.

The Doctor glanced down to see Angel looking at all of them with a smile on her face, pride in her eyes and he couldn't help but feel the same.

~8~

"That's Donna!" Sylvia stared, seeing her daughter beside the two people she now knew to be aliens.

"That's my girl," Wilf nodded, beaming.

Rose couldn't say anything, just stare at Angel's weary form and the devastated look in the Doctor's eyes.

~8~

"Sarah Jane," the Doctor started to smile, "Who's that boy? And there's Torchwood, at it again, the whole team eh?"

"Aren't they brilliant?" Angel smiled up at him, squeezing the hand he'd placed on her shoulder.

"Look at you all, you clever people."

"That's Martha," Donna waved at her woman before smiling at the handsome man in the first box, "And Jack! Well hello soldier!"

"Don't even start…" the Doctor warned, laughing as Donna and Jack grimaced, it seemed introducing them as siblings had been the best thing Angel could do. Hmm...maybe he should introduce more companions to Jack as his 'sister' so the man would stop 'just saying hello' to them.

"It's like an outer space Facebook," Donna remarked.

~8~

"Angel…it's me," Rose called, hoping the girl would somehow still be able to sense _her_ , "I came back, Doctor."

~8~

"They are here!" Caan giggled, "The Dark Lord and his Shining Lady are come!"

"Supreme One, this subwave network, I would address it," the voice called, "Give me access."

~8~

The screen on the TARDIS monitor faded to static, "Ah…" the Doctor hit a knob.

"We've lost them!" Donna gasped.

"No, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor shook his head, "There's another signal coming through, there's someone else out there…hello? Can you hear me?"

"Rose?" Angel called weakly, yet hopeful.

"Your voice is different, and yet, its arrogance is unchanged," a deep, sinister voice remarked.

The Doctor and Angel froze, recognizing the voice.

~8~

"No," Sarah Jane gasped, "But he's _dead_."

~8~

A creature wheeled out of the shadows and onto view of the monitor, to reveal none other than Davros, creator of the Daleks, "Welcome...to my new Empire, Doctor. And let's not forget your lovely Mate," Donna stepped back in revulsion at the sight of the alien, "It is only fitting that you should bear witness to the resurrection and the triumph of Davros, Lord and Creator of the Dalek Race."

The Doctor and Angel were frozen with fear, "Doctor?" Donna called, concerned as she saw the terror in their eyes, "Angel?"

"Have you nothing to say?"

"It's alright," Donna moved to comfort them as they always did her, "We're...we're in the TARDIS. We're safe."

"But you were destroyed," the Doctor mumbled, shaking almost as as much as Angel, "In the very first year of the Time War, at the Gates of Elysium. I saw your command ship flying into the jaws of the Nightmare Child. I tried to save you..."

"But it took one stronger than you," Davros remarked, "Dalek Caan himself."

"I flew into the wild and fire," Caan appeared behind the man, singing insanely, "I danced and died a thousand times!"

"Emergency Temporal Shift took him back into the Time War itself."

"But that's _impossible_ , the entire War is time-locked," the Doctor cried.

"And yet, he succeeded. Oh, it cost him his mind, but imagine, a single, simple Dalek succeeded where Emperors and Time Lords have failed. A testament, don't you think, to my remarkable creations?"

"And you made a new race of Daleks."

"I gave myself to them. Quite literally. Each one grown from a cell of my own body," he pulled up his leather suit to reveal a decaying mess of bones and skin, his ribs and heart bare, which made Angel grimace and pale, turning away from the sight, "New Daleks. True Daleks. I have my children, Doctor. What do you have, now besides a fading Mate?"

"After all this time..." the Doctor whispered, "Everything we saw, everything we lost...I have only one thing to say to you," he suddenly glared, shouting, "BYE!" he pulled a lever, cutting off contact.

~8~

"Emergency!" the Supreme Dalek ordered, "Locate the TARDIS! Find the Doctor and his Mate!"

"They will go to the Earth to find their precious human allies," Davros replied.

"And death is coming…" Caan tittered, "I can see it...everlasting death for the most faithful companion!"

"Subwave network rerouted," a Dalek reported, "New location: Torchwood."

"Then exterminate them, at once!" the Supreme Dalek ordered, "Exterminate Torchwood!"

~8~

Jack darted around busily, getting ready, his phone to his ear, a desperation in his moves.

"Guys," Ianto called quietly from a terminal, ushering Gwen, Tosh, and Owen over subtly so Jack wouldn't see, "Dalek saucer heading for the Bay. They've found us," he rushed away as Gwen and Tosh looked down at a blinking red dot approaching them.

"Martha, open that Indigo device!" Jack called, "Now, listen to me...lift the central panel. There's a string of numbers that keep changing," he grabbed a large gun and tossed it to Owen, "But the fourth number keeps oscillating between two different digits. Tell me what they are."

"It's a four and a nine," Martha answered, "We could never work out what that was."

"That's a teleport base-code, and that's all I need to get this thing working again," Jack adjusted his manipulator as Ianto helped him into his coat, "Oscillating four...and nine. Thank you Martha Jones," he flipped the phone closed as Owen gave him the gun back, "I've gotta go," he told the team, "I've got to find the Doc and Angie," they stared at him silently, "I'll come back," he told them reassuringly, "I'm coming back!" he promised when they were silent still.

"Don't worry about us," Gwen smiled.

"Just go," Tosh nodded.

"We'll be fine," Ianto agreed.

"You'd better be," Jack said teleporting away.

They exchanged fearful glances when a crash sounded above them, rubble falling from the ceiling. Slowly they crept forward, listening...

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

"They're here," Owen swallowed.

~8~

"TARDIS heading for vector seven," Mr. Smith announced, "Grid reference: 665…"

Sarah Jane rushed to get ready, "There are Daleks out there!" Luke cried, seeing what his mother was about to do.

Sarah Jane pulled on her coat, "I know. I'm sorry, but I have GOT to find the Doctor and Angel!" she grabbed her keys, "Don't move. Don't leave the house. Don't do anything."

"I will protect the boy, Sarah Jane," Mr. Smith promised.

"I love you," she told Luke sincerely, "Remember that," and, with a stifled sob, she rushed off out of the house and to her car, skidding off down the road in a hurry.

~8~

"Control?" Rose called into her comm., "I need another shift. Lock me onto the TARDIS. Now," she flipped the phone closed and faced Wilf and Sylvia, "Right! I'm gonna find them," she told them, "Wish me luck!"

"Oh, good luck!" Sylvia smiled.

"Yeah, good luck sweetheart!" Wilf added as Rose disappeared in a blinding flash of blue light.

~8~

The TARDIS materialized in front of a church, the road full of abandoned cars parked everywhere. Overturned push chairs and bikes were among the scattered rubbish. It was unnaturally silent. Angel stumbled out of the TARDIS, leaning on the Doctor for support, as Donna followed, all of them looking around, "It's like a ghost town," Donna murmured, uneasy.

"Sarah Jane..." Angel wheezed, "She said...they were taking people," she looked at the Doctor, "Why?""

The Doctor turned to Donna, "Think, Donna. When you met Rose in that parallel world, what did she say?"

"Just...the darkness is coming," she shrugged.

"Anything else?"

Donna paused to think a moment, when her eye caught something past his shoulder, "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

The Doctor frowned, Angel looking confused, as he slowly turned them to follow Donna's gaze, only to see Rose standing there, at the far end of the street, holding an outrageously large gun. Rose's mouth dropped open, her eyes locked on Angel in horror and shock a moment before she took off running towards them. Angel stepped away from the Doctor, stumbling a bit, when Donna caught her. He looked at her, confused as to why she'd moved away from him.

"I can't run that fast right now," she murmured.

He could see it in her eyes, she wanted to run over and meet her friend, the woman she looked at like a little sister, halfway, and just pull her into a hug but couldn't. He nodded, he would do it for the both of them. He turned and started running towards Rose.

Angel smiled softly, watching as they ran towards each other, she knew the Doctor missed Rose just as much as she did. Just as Mickey was special to her, being her first companion, she knew Rose was special to him as his first companion after the War...

But then a flash of light caught her eye as a Dalek emergency shifted in.

"DOCTOR!" she screamed, pushing away from Donna and feebly running after him, "Duck!"

The Doctor started to look back when…

"Exterminate!"

Rose gasped in horror as the Dalek shot at the Doctor, the laser only skimming his chest, but it was enough. He fell to the ground as Jack appeared in a flash of light and shot his equally large gun at the Dalek, destroying it. Rose fell to her knees at the Doctor's side moments before Angel all but collapsed onto the other side, thoroughly bruising her knees, scraping the palms of her hands, gasping for breath, tears in her eyes as she grabbed the Doctor's hand.

"Doctor…" Rose smiled shakily, "It's me."

The Doctor looked up at her, smiling a bit through his pain, "Hello."

"Doctor," Angel gasped as Donna dropped down beside her.

"Angel," he looked at her, startled, she'd _run_ the whole way…the exertion…she could barely _walk_ …it would only…

He convulsed in pain.

"No," she shook her head, "No, you hear me, not before me. Don't you dare."

"Oh, my God," Rose wept as she looked between her two friends. She'd come so far and now she was losing _both_ of them, all over again.

"Get him into the TARDIS, quick," Jack told Rose, "Move!"

Donna helped Angel stand, struggling to support the girl but not about to let her down as Rose and Jack managed to pull the Doctor to his feet and lead him towards the TARDIS.

~8~

Gwen emerged from a back room with her arms full of guns.

"But, they don't work against Daleks," Ianto remarked.

"Yeah?" Gwen scoffed, "Well, I'm going out fighting," she looked at them, "How about you?"

The group exchanged a brief look before they all grabbed a gun.

"Exterminate!"

~8~

Rose and Jack laid the Doctor down on the grilling, Donna gently depositing Angel beside him as he trembled and moaned in pain.

"What…what do we do?" Donna looked at them, not leaving Angel's side, "There must be some medicine or something!"

Jack tossed his gun down on the captain's chair, "Just step back," Rose gently led Donna back, knowing what was about to happen. Jack took Donna's place, crouched down beside Angel, gently putting his hands on her arms, "Angie, you need to get back…it won't help."

"I…I can't…" she sobbed, her hearts _pounding_.

She knew it wouldn't help. Regeneration energy was meant to heal, yes, and it _could_ be used to heal other Time Lords, but only when it was lying in wait. When it had been triggered, when the actual regeneration had been triggered, the energy was so powerful that it couldn't be controlled in that way, it would only heal the Time Lord in question and harm others who got too close.

"He's dying, and you know what happens next," he told her gently, "The energy might just make it worse. Come on," he helped her up, nearly having to pick her up and carry her she was so weak.

"What do you mean?" Donna breathed, looking around, "What happens next? Is it that regeneration thing?"

The Doctor held out his hand to see it glowing with orange light, "It's starting," his whole body glowed as he groaned.

~8~

Sarah Jane's car skid around the corner, screeching to a halt as she saw two Daleks before her, "All human transport is forbidden," one of the Daleks stated.

"No!" she screamed, raising her hands, "I surrender, I'm sorry!"

"Daleks do not accept apologies. You will be exterminated."

"Exterminate!" the second Dalek ordered. She threw her arms up, whimpering, "Exterminate!"

~8~

The Daleks broke into the hub where the four members of Torchwood were waiting with their guns.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

And they opened fire.

~8~

"Here we go!" Jack said, "Good luck, Doctor!" he wrapped his arms around Angel, keeping her standing as the Doctor struggled to his feet.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor looked at them, his gaze landing on Angel's tear-stained face, "It's not your fault," he told her, knowing she was blaming herself for letting him to go to Rose, for being too weak to 'feel' the Dalek about to appear, "I'm regenerating!" he threw his head back, his arms out wide, as the orange energy exploded from his skin, erupting from his face and hands.

Donna, Jack, and Rose had to look away from the intensity of it but Angel refused.

To be continued...

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :'( Aww Angel :( I think she's going to need quite a few hugs, good thing her family's there :) I hope Jack's reaction was believable, with him going off at the Doctor, he's not quite done processing what's happening to Angel and the fact that there's nothing he can do to help just yet so we'll see a little more about it in the next chapter too. As for Rose, I sort of got annoyed in the actual show, how she kept making comments about 'being there first' when Sarah Jane was right there...clearly, NOT the first. But here she's definitely matured enough to realize what the companions after her have done for the Time Lords and she respects Martha and Donna much more :)


	45. Journey's End: Life

Orange energy exploded from the Doctor...when he suddenly turned and directed the energy into his hand in a jar underneath the console. It bubbled and glowed as the energy entered it, the hand within twitching and shaking from the sudden inflow of energy. The regeneration suddenly stopped and the Doctor stumbled backwards, gasping, still the same, as the trio of humans gaped at him.

"Doctor…" Angel breathed, managing to step out of a stunned Jack's arms, only to nearly fall to the floor had the Doctor not rushed forward and caught her.

He pulled her completely away from Jack, holding her close for a moment as she hugged him tightly, which wasn't quite so tight as she'd spent the last of her energy running to his side before. He closed his eyes a moment and buried his face in her hair, not wanting her to see the tears in them. She had been stupid just then, not that he would EVER call her stupid but just...what she'd done hadn't been good. She had barely been able to stand, to walk on her own and for her to force herself to run to him...he could only imagine how badly that had damaged her. He couldn't bear the thought of scanning her to find out just how little time she had left now after that. It shouldn't have been so bad, but...her body just couldn't handle that and if would revolt against the extra exertion.

And speaking of...

He pulled away a bit, gently moving her to sit on the captain's chair as he knelt before her, turning her hands over to see the scrapes on them from where she'd fallen to the pavement beside him. He gently ran his thumbs over her palms, allowing just a little of the left over regeneration energy flow into them, healing the cuts. He may not be able to heal her body, there was nothing physically wrong with her...she was just...shutting down...but he could heal her injuries at least. He placed her hands on her lap and let his own trail down her legs to her knees, resting on them, letting the energy pour into that as well, easing the bruises.

"Thank you," she whispered to him, her voice cracking at the dryness.

He nodded, getting up just enough to kiss her head, hiding a wince as he felt it now twice as warm as it had been, before he turned to the others, his arm resting on the back of the captain's chair to look at the group, "Now, then," he cleared his throat, knowing Angel would refuse to let him take care of her till the Earth was safe, "Where were we?"

~8~

Sarah Jane waited for the blow from the Daleks as they closed in, "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

When suddenly Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler appeared in flashes of blue light on either side of her car, well...Mickey appeared, Jackie seemed to be clinging to his arm. Mickey quickly fired his rather large gun at the Daleks, blowing them apart. Sarah Jane gasped and got out of the car shakily, "Mickey!" she shouted, rushing to hug him, noting he felt just a bit more muscular than the last time she'd seen him. It seemed travelling with the Doctor and Angel had done him some good.

"Us Smiths have got to stick together," he grinned at her, shooting her a wink as well.

"Jackie Tyler, Rose's Mum," Jackie cut in, crossing her arms with a frown on her face, "Now, where the hell is my daughter Mickey?!"

She hadn't meant to get pulled across the dimensions, not like this. Well, she was happy she had, she was NOT about to let her daughter face whatever was creating the darkness across the stars alone, not even if Mickey was going with her. No, SHE would be there for her daughter no matter what. Mickey had tried to stop her, but she'd grabbed onto his teleport thing a moment before he disappeared and been taken along for the ride. Mickey had been a bit cross because the teleport comms., the ones specifically linked between him and Rose, had gone down. Given the different dimensions, the teleports had been rigged with a sort of DNA connection, allowing his comm. to connect to Rose's and hers to his as long as they wore them and the scanners could pick up the DNA. When Jackie had grabbed him, the DNA had gotten muddled.

He really had no idea where Rose was at the moment, he could only pray that she was with the Doctor and Angel.

~8~

The Torchwood Team fired a never-ending round of bullets at the Daleks…when Ianto noticed something.

They stopped, creeping forward to see their bullets had stopped in midair, just hanging there, as the Daleks froze. Gwen reached out with one finger to touch one but couldn't, the air just rippling from her finger as though at an invisible wall, "...what the hell?" she breathed.

~8~

Jack just shook his head and moved to sit beside Angel, the Earth could wait for the moment, taking her hands in his, "Angie..." he whispered, swallowing hard as his own voice cracked but not from dryness, "Please. _Please_ tell me you were lying about dying."

She could only offer him a sad smile, "Rule 2."

He closed his eyes, "The Angel doesn't lie," he shook his head, he just...how could this have happened? She had been ok at the end of that whole Year-That-Never-Was, she'd been fine! The TARDIS was fine, it had never been turned into a Paradox Machine, everything had gone back to the way it was, even Angel so why...

And then he realized, HE could remember that year, so could the Jones family, so could every person who had been on the bridge because they were the eye of the storm. They were the only ones who remembered. And, if their minds could remember...what if their bodies could too?

"Oh God..." he breathed, feeling sick.

He hadn't noticed and he should have. He should have done. But...with everything that had happened the last time he'd seen her, with Gray being on the loose and John being a bomb and Tosh and Owen nearly dying and the city nearly being destroyed...he just...hadn't.

"I'm so sorry Ang," he looked at her, tears in his eyes.

"It's ok Jack," she tried to reach out to him but she could barely lift her arm so he took her hand for her, "Everything," she swallowed, "Everything, all things, must die...even Time Lords."

He shook his head, "But not YOU," he took a breath, trying his hardest not to cry.

Angel seemed to sense that even without her abilities and tugged him. He leaned closer and pulled her into a tight hug...a bit too tight...she already had enough trouble just trying to breathe without her lungs being crushed as well, but Jack needed this. He needed some sort of comfort and she was NOT going to begrudge him that.

Jack closed his eyes tightly, here was his sister, his baby sister, dying and she was still trying to comfort HIM. But it didn't help because all he could think about was...what if this was it? What if this was the last hug he'd ever get from his baby sister, his little Angie, his angel. What if she really died and didn't come back or regenerate or anything? What would he do without her?

She wasn't just the Doctor's light in the dark.

But what's more...she was his family, she was his little sister...

And she was dying.

And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

He took a breath and pulled away, looking over at the others standing there, Rose with tears in her eyes, Donna with her arms crossed as though hugging herself, and the Doctor solemn, looking just as devastated as he felt. He nodded at the man in apology, he understood now how the Time Lord must have felt that entire year.

Angel, his MATE, was dying and, being a Doctor and there being nothing he could do to help her, it must have killed him.

The Doctor looked down, not wanting to say anything, he couldn't say anything because he'd completely break down if he did. This was too close, Angel was too close to the end and he couldn't bear that.

So, he did what he always did when things got to be too much...he looked for a distraction, for anything to change the topic and get everyone's mind off of what was happening...something he knew Angel would be thankful for. She hated tears almost as much as death.

And, as luck would have it, he spotted his hand in the jar, "There, now," he blew on it gently to calm it down before sitting next to it, the perfect distraction, just what he could ramble on about, "You see? Used the regeneration energy to heal myself, but as soon as that was done, I didn't need to change. I didn't want to, why would I?" he tweaked his tie, "Look at me! Angel thinks I look smashing," he winked at her as she smiled tiredly, "So, to stop the energy going all the way, I siphoned off the rest into a handy bio-matching receptacle, namely, my hand. My hand, there. My handy spare hand," he stood up and looked at Rose, "Remember? Christmas Day? Sycorax? Lost my hand in a sword fight? That's my hand!" Rose looked slowly from the hand to him, uncertain, "What do you think?"

"And...you're still you?" Rose asked, trying to catch up to his techno-babble.

"I'm still me," he nodded, before hugging her tightly.

"Don't forget me," Angel called.

Rose laughed and turned, kneeling before Angel and hugging her as well, tears pooling in her eyes as she screwed them shut, not wanting to think, as Jack had, that this might be the last time she hugged Angel. From what she could gather of the solemnity of the Doctor and Martha, Angel might not live past this death.

"You can hug me, if you want," Donna looked at Jack, making him laugh, "No, really, come on Jack-Jack, give your other sis a hug," she smiled a bit at him and he could see the tears in her eyes now, she really _did_ need a hug.

He nodded and got up, moving right over to her, giving her a great big bear hug as Angel smiled, watching them.

Everything would be fine, she had to believe that, as long as her family had each other, as long as the Doctor had them...everything would be fine.

It had to be.

~8~

"It's a time-lock," Tosh explained as they stared at the Daleks, "The ultimate defense program. I've been working on it for a while now. The Hub's sealed in a time-bubble. Nothing can get in."

"But that means we can't get out," Owen realized.

"No. Not without unlocking that Dalek."

"So we're trapped inside," Gwen sighed.

"It's all up to Jack, now," Ianto murmured.

~8~

Four Daleks surrounded the TARDIS as it sat in the street, "Report: TARDIS has been located."

"Bring it here," the Supreme Dalek ordered over the comm., "Bring the Doctor and his Mate to me. Initiate temporal prison!"

The Daleks each turned to a corner of the TARDIS, surrounding it in a thin hoop of light, "Temporal prison initiated," a Dalek reported.

~8~

Angel let out a pained groan as the power in the TARDIS went out, curling in on herself. Rose's eyes widened as she grabbed Angel's hand, Donna quickly kneeling by the girl's head as she laid down on the chair, stroking her hair. The Doctor and Jack ran to the console to try and figure out what was wrong.

"They've got us," the Doctor frowned, "Power's gone...some kind of chronon loop!"

The TARDIS tilted dangerously to one side.

~8~

Sarah Jane, Jackie, and Mickey crept up behind a van, watching Daleks surround the TARDIS, "Transferring TARDIS to the Crucible!" a Dalek stated and the TARDIS was lifted skywards in a circle of blue light, headed towards the Dalek ship.

"That teleport thing...can we use it?" Sarah Jane asked Mickey, "If they've taken the Doctor and Angel to the Dalek spaceship, then that's where we need to be."

"It's not just a teleport, it's a Dimension Jump," Mickey corrected lightly, taking the device off his wrist, "Man, this thing rips a hole in the fabric of space."

He stared at the teleport activator solemnly, if the little yellow buttons hurt Angel as much as they had last time, he couldn't begin to imagine how badly these babies would affect her. He could only hope she'd forgive him, but he _had_ to come back, it wasn't just Rose he'd come for, but Angel, he couldn't leave his Pilot alone not when something bad was coming.

"But can we use it?"

"Not yet," he shook his head out of his thoughts, "It burns up energy. Needs half an hour between jumps," he tossed it to Jackie to hold as he lifted his gun again.

"Then, put down your guns," Sarah Jane ordered gently.

"What?!"

"If you're carrying a gun, they'll shoot you dead," she stepped around from behind the van, her hands raised in surrender, "Daleks? I surrender."

The Daleks rounded on her, "All humans in this sector will be taken to the Crucible!"

"She's bloody brilliant," Mickey remarked, setting down his gun, but Jackie just stared at him like he'd gone mad, "If they've got the Doctor and Angel, then they've got Rose," he reminded her, holding out a hand to her.

Jackie sighed and nodded, stepping around the van with Mickey, "And us," she added, "We surrender!"

~8~

Martha adjusted her body pack before looking at her mother, "Now Jack's explained the base code, I know how this teleport works. I think. But you just stay indoors. There's no Daleks on this street, you should be alright. Just um...keep quiet."

"Where are you going?!" her mother frowned.

"I'm a member of UNIT and they gave me the Osterhagen Key, I've got to do my job," she said firmly. Her mother walked toward her but she held out a hand to stop her, "I'm sorry."

"Martha...what's an Osterhagen Key? Tell me. What does it do?"

Martha just looked at her tearfully, "Love you," she pulled the cords on the pack and disappeared, reappearing in a dark forest 60 miles outside Nuremburg Germany. She gasped in fright, hearing Daleks not too far away.

"Exterminieren!" one cried in German, "Exterminieren! Exterminieren!"

"Halt!" a second shouted, "Sonst werden wir Sie exterminieren! Sie sind jetzt ein Gefangener der Daleks!" Martha stood and peered through the trees to see the Daleks gliding ominously through the dark woods, "Exterminieren! Exterminieren!"

She turned and ran in the opposite direction.

~8~

"There's a massive Dalek ship at the center of the planets," Jack called from the monitor as the Doctor scanned Angel with the sonic, a grim look on his face, "They're calling it the Crucible. Guess that's our destination."

"You said these planets were like an engine," Donna looked at him, not wanting to ask about the results, the look on his face was enough, Angel was fading and fast, and whatever was happening with the TARDIS wasn't helping, "But what for?"

"Rose…" Angel wheezed, weakly squeezing Rose's hand that she was still holding.

"Yes!" the Doctor's eyes widened, turning to Rose, "You've been in a parallel world, that world's running ahead of this Universe, you've seen the future, what was it?"

"It's the darkness," she said.

"The stars were going out," Donna recalled.

"One by one. We looked up at the sky and they were just..." she swallowed, not wanting to use the word but knowing it was the only way to describe it, "Dying. Basically, we've been building this um...this travel machine, this...uh...Dimension Cannon, so I could...well, so I could..."

"What?" Angel panted, squeezing her hand again.

Rose looked down at her sadly and brushed a lock of hair from the ginger girl's face, "So I could warn you. So I could...so I could come back."

Angel swallowed hard, "I'm _so_ glad...you're here."

Rose smiled softly at that, before shaking her head, not wanting to think about it, so she looked at the Doctor, "Suddenly, it started to work. And the dimensions started to collapse," she looked up at the Doctor, "Not just in our world, not just in yours, but the whole of reality, even _the Void_ was dead. Something is...destroying everything."

"In that parallel world..." Donna hesitated, "You said something about me."

"The Dimension Cannon could measure timelines, and it's...it's weird, Donna, but they all seem to converge on you."

"But why me? I mean...what have I ever done? I'm a temp from Chiswick!"

"Supertemp," Angel reminded her lightly, smiling slightly up at her, "Remember?"

Donna smiled down at her, "I remember, Supergirl."

The computer bleeped and Jack stiffened, "The Dalek Crucible. All aboard…"

~8~

The TARDIS zoomed towards a huge planet-shaped crucible, landing with a crash, "The TARDIS is secured!" a Dalek called as the army gathered around the box.

"Doctor!" the Supreme Dalek shouted, "You and your Mate will step forth or die!"

~8~

"He's a bit late," Angel joked half-heartedly as they heard the Dalek's order.

"We'll have to go out," the Doctor sighed, "'Cos if we don't, they'll get in."

"You told me nothing could get through those doors!" Rose remarked.

"You've got extrapolator shielding," Jack nodded.

"Last time we fought the Daleks, they were scavengers and hybrids and mad," he told them, "But this is a fully fledged _Dalek Empire_...at the height of its power. Experts at fighting TARDISes, they can do anything," Jack and Rose's eyes widened in fear, "Right now, that wooden door...is just wood."

Donna glanced over at something she couldn't quite see...hearing a heart beating in her mind.

"What about your Dimension Jump?" Jack looked at Rose.

"It needs another twenty minutes, and anyway, I'm _not_ leaving," Rose said fiercely, standing up to show just how firm she was in that.

"What about your teleport?" the Doctor looked at Jack.

"Went down with the power loss," he sighed.

"Right then. All of us together...yeah," he looked over at Donna, "Donna?"

Donna didn't react till Angel reached out and touched her arm, "Donna," she breathed.

"Yeah," Donna snapped back and looked at them.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing else we can do," the Doctor frowned.

"No, I know."

The Doctor sighed and knelt down beside Angel, Donna standing up as he helped Angel stand...only for her to stumble and slump forward, unable to support herself even _with_ his help anymore.

"Surrender, Doctor, and face your Dalek masters!" the Supreme Dalek ordered.

"Crucible on maximum alert!" another Dalek stated.

Jack rushed forward to help the Doctor, the two of them gently laying Angel down at the base of the console, setting her up so she could sit back against it, "You can't come," the Doctor told her quietly as Jack stepped back, sensing they needed this moment, stroking the side of her face, "Your body…it's just so weak Angel and I…"

"I don't...want to leave you," she whispered, tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he took her hand, kissing the back of it, "I'm so sorry, but I need to know you're safe. I can distract them, keep them from coming in. Please," she swallowed hard but nodded, knowing she would only be a liability, she was too weak, too slow, someone would get hurt because of her or she might become the prime target of an attack and she knew, if SHE got hurt, the others would get hurt as well in their distraction. He leaned forward, kissing her head, before kissing her mouth. He pulled back, resting his head on hers for a moment before standing and looking at them all, "It's been good, though, hasn't it? All of us...all of it...everything we did..." he looked at Donna, "You were brilliant," and then Jack, "And you were brilliant," and Rose, "And you were brilliant," and back to Angel, "And you were just…fantastic," he smiled at her as she returned one herself. He took a breath, "Blimey."

He turned and walked to the doors, resigned, as Rose and Jack followed, along with Donna. He hesitated a moment before opening the doors and stepping out with Rose and Jack.

"Daleks reign supreme!" the Supreme Dalek called, "All hail the Daleks!"

Donna walked slowly to the doors before pausing, hearing the heartbeat again.

"Daleks reign supreme!" the Daleks echoed, "All hail the Daleks! Daleks reign supreme! All hail the Daleks!" the Doctor, Rose, and Jack looked around to see themselves surrounded by an army, "Daleks reign supreme! All hail the Daleks! Daleks reign supreme! All hail the Daleks!"

"Behold, Doctor," the Supreme Dalek replied, "Behold the might of the true Dalek Race."

Donna turned around to look at the console, her brow furrowed.

"Donna?" Angel frowned, wondering what was wrong.

And then the doors slammed shut.

The Doctor spun around, hearing the doors, and dashed back to the TARDIS.

"Doctor?!" Donna banged on the doors, rattling the handle, "What've you done?"

"It wasn't me, I didn't do anything!" he shouted from the other side.

"Oi! Oi, I'm not staying behind!"

The Doctor spun to the Supreme Dalek, "What did you do?"

"This is not of Dalek origin," it replied.

"Doctor!" Donna banged.

"Stop it!" the Doctor spat angrily, "She's my friend. Now, open the door and let her out."

"This is Time Lord treachery!" it cried.

" _Me_?! The door just closed on its own!"

"Nevertheless...the TARDIS is a weapon and it will be destroyed," the Supreme Dalek ordered...

And then the TARDIS fell through a trapdoor just beneath it.

~8~

Donna stumbled around as the TARDIS fell, struggling to make her way to Angel as the girl was thrown to the side, landing beside the hand in the jar.

~8~

"What're you doing?!" the Doctor screamed in horror, " _My Mate's_ in there! Bring her back!"

~8~

Donna grabbed onto the railing, pulling her way to Angel, "Angel!" she shouted, reaching for the woman.

~8~

"What've you done?!" the Doctor heaved, panicked, "Where's it going?"

"The Crucible has a heart of Z-Neutrino Energy," the Supreme Dalek stated, "The TARDIS will be deposited into the core."

"But you _can't_ , you've taken the defenses down," the Doctor turned to it in horror, "It'll be torn apart! My Mate along with it!"

~8~

The TARDIS landed in a substance that resembled a burning white sun, a burning ball of fire.

~8~

The lights around the console shattered as Donna and Angel screamed, small fires springing up around the grilling, nearly burning them.

~8~

"But Angel and Donna are still in there!" Rose stepped forward, alarmed.

"Let them go!" Jack threatened, "You let my sisters go!"

~8~

Donna crouched down by the console, holding Angel to her as she tried to shield the girl from the small explosions and sparks and fire all around them.

~8~

"The female, the Time Lady, and the TARDIS will perish together!" the Supreme Dalek said, "Observe."

A holographic screen flickered on before them, above them, the Doctor stepping closer with dread, his hearts racing as he literally felt Angel's fear and pain while he watched the TARDIS bob in the energy.

"The last child of Gallifrey is powerless to save the true child of Time!"

The Doctor could on watch in horror, utterly powerless.

~8~

There was absolute chaos in the TARDIS as sparks flew, glass smashed, smoke from the fires started to choke them both. Donna grabbed the white scarf Angel was wearing and held it to the girl's mouth, trying to filter the air for her to help her weakened lungs.

~8~

"Please," the Doctor begged, "I'm _begging_ you, I'll do anything! Put me in her place! Take me and not Angel, _please_!" Angel was already dying in her own body, she didn't need to burn to death as well, "You can do anything to me, torture me, kill me, I don't care, just get my Mate out of there!"

~8~

Donna looked down at Angel who blinked blearily at her, seeming to struggle to remain conscious, as they both coughed and panted. Donna looked over, spotting the hand, her head full of the heartbeat again. An orange glow started to emanate from the hand as she reached out to touch the jar.

Angel's eyes widened and she reached out weakly to try and stop Donna from touching it.

But it was too late, the orange regeneration energy slowly engulfed her.

Donna gasped, shaking, as Angel grabbed her arm, the jar smashing.

~8~

The Doctor watched with gritted teeth, breathing heavily, trembling.

"You are connected to the TARDIS and your Mate," the Supreme Dalek cried, "Now, feel them die!"

The Doctor broke out into a sweat, panting as he felt his bonds with Angel slowly start to block, her own doing with the last bit of strength she had left, something was happening she didn't want him to feel…

~8~

Donna sat up with a gasp, the destruction of the TARDIS still happening though she seemed calmed to it. She looked over at Angel, lying on the floor, panting, before scooping the girl into her arms and hugging her tightly, Angel barely able to move it hurt so much. She shouldn't have touched Donna, she shouldn't have it just...everything hurt so badly...the energy, once triggered, was too turbulent, too violent, too unstable to be a healing force for her. It was _deadly_. But...she couldn't let her sister touch the jar alone. She knew what it would mean for a human to touch that hand...and she couldn't bear that.

She was already dying.

It truly wouldn't matter if she died even faster now.

Donna bit her lip, hearing Angel whimper in pain...when she caught sight of the hand, out of the jar, lying on the grilling...

The fingers twitched.

The two watched as the energy spread outwards from the hand into a human shape, the Doctor...no not the Doctor, but close...sitting up, eyes wide, stark naked, as soon as it was fully formed.

"It's you..." Donna gasped, amazed.

"Oh, yes," the New Doctor said.

Donna glanced down at him and then up quickly, "You're naked!"

"Oh, yes," he repeated as the TARDIS smashed around them.

~8~

"Total TARDIS destruction in ten rels!" a Dalek cried.

Rose walked over to the motionless Doctor and put an arm around him, Jack stepping up on his other side, grabbing the man's shoulder.

"Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five!"

~8~

The New Doctor pressed a button on the console, pulling himself up with gritted teeth and wild eyes.

~8~

"Four! Three! Two! One!"

And the TARDIS faded out.

"The TARDIS has been destroyed," the Supreme Dalek stated, "Now, tell me, Doctor...what do you feel?" the Doctor just stared at the screen, a dark expression on his face, "Anger? Sorrow? Despair?"

"Yeah," he swallowed.

He should have felt death.

He should have died too.

But the Mating hadn't been completed, he could live on even if Angel died.

...he COULD...

But he knew he wouldn't.

Not for much longer.

Rose looked at him, tears and concern in her eyes, she could only imagine what he was feeling. She lost a sister and a friend. He lost a Mate and a home, everything he had of his planet.

"Then, if emotions are so important, surely we have enhanced you."

"Yeah?" Jack glared, "Feel this!" he turned and shot the Supreme Dalek with his revolver but the bullets bounced off ineffectually.

"Exterminate!" the Supreme Dalek cried, sending a laser at Jack.

He screamed in pain and fell, dead, to the floor.

"Jack!" Rose gasped, falling to her knees beside him, "Oh, my God. Oh, no…"

The Doctor looked over, "Rose...leave him."

"They killed him."

"I know," he said, looking back at the screen.

"Escort them to the Vault," the Supreme Dalek commanded, "They are the playthings of Davros, now."

A Dalek glided forward and led them from the room, the Doctor glancing back at Jack who just winked as he revived.

~8~

The TARDIS, intact and alive, flew away from the Crucible.

~8~

The New Doctor jumped down from the railings where he was repairing the door, now dressed in a blue suit and a red top, while Donna knelt beside Angel, who was laying on the floor, whimpering and shaking and sweating.

"All repaired!" he called, "Lovely. Shh! No one knows we're here. Gotta keep quiet. Silent running, like on submarines when they can't even drop a spanner. Don't drop a spanner. I like blue, what do you think?"

"You. Are. Bonkers!" Donna looked up at him, having no idea how he could be talking about spanners and submarines with Angel in her current state.

"Why?! What's wrong with blue?"

"Is that what Time Lords do? Lop a bit off, grow another one? You're like worms!"

"No, no, no, no, no, I'm unique. Never been another like me! Because all that regeneration energy went into the hand, look at my hand, I love that hand..." he waved his fingers, "But then you touched it, WHAM!" Donna gasped, "Shh...instantaneous biological metacrisis. I grew...out of you. Still, could be worse."

"Oi! Watch it, spaceman."

"Oi! Watch it, Earth-girl. Oh!" his eyes widened in shock as they stared at each other, their mouths open, "I sound like you! I sound all...all sort of...rough."

"Oi!"

"Oi!"

"Oi!"

"Stop…" Angel moaned, grabbing the side of her head as she nearly cried from the pain there.

The New Doctor rushed to her side, kneeling beside her and pulling out a stethoscope from his coat pocket to listen to her hearts as they pounded away, "Must've picked up a bit of your voice, that's all," he continued to mutter as he listened to it, "Is it? Did I? No. Oh!" and then he placed the scope on his own chest, "You are kidding me, no WAY. One heart..." he felt his chest, "I've got one heart! This body...has got only one heart!"

"What?" Donna gaped, reaching out to place a hand on his chest, "What, like you're...human?"

"Oh, that's disgusting."

"Oi!"

"Oi!"

"Please... _stop_ ," Angel pleaded.

Donna frowned and leaned over, brushing a few strands of hair away from Angel's face, taking her hand and squeezing it.

The New Doctor was silent a moment, "I'm...part Time Lord, part human..." he reasoned, "Well, isn't that wizard?"

"I kept hearing that noise..." Donna said softly, "That heartbeat."

"Oh, that was me. My single heart," he got up and went to the console, "'Cos I'm a…complicated event in time and space, must've rippled back. Converging on you."

"But why me?"

"Super...temp," Angel breathed weakly.

"Because you're special," the New Doctor nodded.

"Oh, I keep telling you," Donna shook her head, "I'm not."

"No, but you _are_ , you…" he paused, working it out, "Oh...you really _don't_ believe that, do you?" he blinked, staring at her, "I can see, Donna...what you're thinking. All that attitude, all that lip, 'cos all this time...you think you're not worth it."

"Stop it."

"Shouting at the world 'cos no one's listening. Well...why should they?"

"Doctor. Stop it."

"But look at what you did...no. It's _more_ than that, it's like..." he searched his thoughts, a strange feeling bubbling inside him, "We were always heading for this," he trailed, following the feeling, "You came to the TARDIS…and you found us again. Your granddad. Your car! Donna, your car! You parked your car right where the TARDIS was gonna land, that's not coincidence at all! We've been blind! Something's been drawing us together for such a long time."

"But you're talking like...destiny. But there's no such thing...is there?"

"It's still not finished," he continued, frowning, "It's like...the pattern's not complete. The strands are still joining together. But heading for what?" and then his eyes widened and he looked at Angel, "I sound like you," he whispered as he walked over and knelt by her side again, gently stroking her hair, "Like when you would sense things. Like there's something at the edge of my thoughts and senses that I just...haven't quite grasped yet...is that what you felt?"

"Yeah," she breathed, blinking rapidly.

"I think you picked up a bit more than just _me_ ," Donna remarked softly as they looked down at the girl on the ground, struggling to keep her eyes open...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I can say about the next chapter is that...a promise will be broken... :(
> 
> I know that I've had all my Time Ladies stay in the TARDIS (will NOT happen with TL4) but I really could NOT see the Doctor letting Angel out of the TARDIS in the state she was in. She really is too weak to even move and they wouldn't be able to protect her as well as the TARDIS could :(
> 
> Poor Angel, but...metacrisis Doctor now has a little bit more too him now doesn't he? :) And...if he got a bit of Angel...what does that mean for Donna?


	46. Journey's End: Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! I just wanted to apologize if there are any spelling errors in the German in this chapter or the previous one. I used what was written on the transcripts for those parts. I also used Google Translate to put the English translations (or as close as I could get it) just after the German.

Martha emerged from the woods, an old woman coming out to meet her down the steps of a castle just across the way, "Hier ist niemand!" the woman shouted that there was no one there, "Was immer sie wollen, gehen Sie fort!" and that whatever she wanted she should go away, "Lassen Sie mich in Ruhe," and leave her alone.

"Ich heisse Martha Jones," she replied easily, telling the woman her name. She'd found that, since travelling in the TARDIS, she'd been able to pick up languages just a bit easier than others, it was one reason she was so useful to UNIT on top of her experience, "Ich komme von UNIT," she added that she came from UNIT, "Agentin fuenf sechs sechs sieben eins, von der medizinischen Abteilung," that she was agent 5-6-6-7-1, of the medical department.

"Es hiess Sie kamen vorbei," the woman eyed her, telling her that it was said she might be coming, "The accent...that is London, ja? I went to London, long time ago."

"I thought this place was supposed to be guarded," Martha frowned, looking at the rather empty area.

"There were soldiers. Boys. I brought them food, every day. But when der Albtraum came from the sky, they went home. To die," she gave Martha another look, "But not you."

"I've got a job to do," Martha nodded firmly as she headed up the castle steps. She didn't like it, she hated it really, but...UNIT was depending on her to do this, the Earth was, no...the Universe might be depending on her. So...she had to.

Inside was as dark as outside, scarcely any light at all as she looked around before making straight for a curtain at the other side of the room. She pulled it off to reveal a hand recognition lock. She entered a code and placed her hand on it.

"London," the woman said, approaching her, "In those days, to see it. So much glamour. I was so young," Martha was silent, tense, hearing something else in the woman's voice. After all her travels with the Doctor, she knew enough to know her luck would never run as smooth as she would like, but she'd also learned enough from Angel to realize she should trust her gut and her instincts, and right now...she was in danger, "I heard the soldiers talking, many times. They would speak of the Osterhagen Key. I think London must be changed now, yes? But still, the glamour..." Martha opened the door activated by the lock but turned, unsurprised, when she heard a click from behind her to see the woman pointing a gun at her, "You will not go."

"I've got no choice," Martha defended, far more frightened of the key in her hand than the gun in her face.

"I know the Key. What it does. Sie sind der Albtraum, nicht die anderen, Sie," she slipped into German, telling her SHE was the nightmare, not the others, the aliens, but HER, "Ich sollte Sie umbringen, am besten gleich jetzt!"

Martha nodded, understanding that the woman thought it best to kill her instead, right at that moment, "Then do it."

The woman trembled and faltered, she couldn't shoot.

Martha took a breath and stepped into the lift behind the door.

"Martha...zur Hoelle mit Dir," the woman whispered exactly where she thought Martha was going, to Hell, sounding truly scared.

"I know," Martha swallowed, closing the door.

~8~

"Commence disposal," a Dalek ordered in an incinerator room, fires burning at the end of a long track, "Incinerate!"

The Daleks placed Jack's body on a circular drawer, closing it, "Disposal completed," they turned to leave...

When, after a moment, Jack forced his way out of the red hot compartment, steaming and coughing but _alive_.

~8~

The steel door opened, locks clicking away from the top and bottom of it as Martha entered a station. It was a small and dark room full of control panels and flashing lights. She sat before a terminal, the key in hand and steeled herself, pressing a button, "This is Osterhagen Station One. My name is Martha Jones. Is there anyone there? Over."

~8~

Dalek ships few towards the Crucible, tiny in size compared to it, "Prisoners now onboard the Crucible," Dalek ordered, "They will be taken for testing."

The prisoners, the humans that had been seized by the Daleks, were herded along, their hands behind their heads, Sarah Jane, Mickey, and Jackie among them.

"One step closer to the Doctor and Angel," Sarah Jane remarked as they cast furtive looks about them.

Mickey was silent, tense, he couldn't help but feel like...something was wrong. It had started when he and Rose had first been able to cross into this Universe just...a nagging feeling, a pit in his stomach, that grew each time he set foot on Earth, like...something was wrong.

With Angel.

He didn't know why he felt that way, he knew HE wasn't psychic, but maybe...he was just sensitive to her, being his Pilot and all, she'd left an enormous mark on him and he just couldn't help but...worry.

He really, _really_ hoped he was just being paranoid though.

~8~

"Activate the holding cells," Davros called the moment the Doctor and Rose were led into the Vault. Beams of light shot down on the Doctor and Rose, standing a few feet apart from each other. Davros grinned and rolled forward, "Excellent. Even when powerless, a Time Lord is best contained."

"Still scared of me then?" the Doctor asked hollowly as he reached out and touched the edge of the cell, unable to get past the light which rippled around his hand.

"It is time we talked, Doctor, after so very long…"

"No, no, no, no, no," he cut in angrily, "We're _not_ doing the nostalgia tour. I want to know what's happening right here, right now, 'cos the Supreme Dalek said 'Vault,' yeah? As in, dungeon. Cellar. Prison. You're not in charge of the Daleks, are you? They've got you locked away down here in the basement, like, what, a servant? Slave? Court jester?"

"We have...an arrangement."

The Doctor laughed darkly, no longer caring about how his words might anger the man who, quite literally, might hold his life in his hands. No, the more he angered Davros, the more likely he'd be to kill him, exactly what he wanted, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I've got the word. You're the Daleks' _pet_!"

"So very full of fire, is he not?" Davros asked, sounding more amused than angered, "Even when his Mate has perished?" Davros rolled over towards Rose, "And to think, you crossed entire Universes, striding parallel to parallel to find them again."

"Leave her alone," the Doctor glared, not even really seeing _Rose_ at that moment, but Angel's little sister.

"She is mine. To do as I please."

"Then why am I still alive?" Rose shook her head.

"You must be here. It was foretold. Even the Supreme Dalek would not dare to contradict the prophesies of Dalek Caan," he pressed a button and the light around Caan turned on.

"So cold and dark," he giggled, "Fire is coming...the endless flames...the shining light..."

"What is that thing?" Rose gasped.

"You've met before," the Doctor remarked bitterly, recalling the last times he'd met Caan, when Angel had been trapped in the Sphere Room, when they'd been caught in Old New York, "The last of the Cult of Skaro. But it flew into the Time War, unprotected."

"Caan did _more_ than that," Davros smirked, "He saw time. Its infinite complexity and majesty raging through his mind. And...he saw your Mate perish. He saw you. Both of you."

"This I have foreseen in the wild and the wind," Caan cheered, "The Doctor will be here, as witness, at the end of everything. The Doctor and his precious Children of Time!" he laughed, "And one of them will die...one of them has already faded away."

The Doctor's fists clenched in barely contained rage, "Was it you, Caan? Did you kill Angel and Donna? Why did the TARDIS door close? _Tell me_! Was it YOU who killed Angel?!"

"Oh, that's it!" Davros cried, delighted, "The end, the fire, the rage of a Time Lord who butchered millions. There he is. Why so shy? Show your companion...show her your true self," the Doctor looked uneasy, "Dalek Caan has promised me that too."

"I have seen it," Caan giggled, "At the time of ending, the Doctor's soul will be revealed."

"What does that mean?" the Doctor frowned.

"We will discover it together...our final journey," Davros remarked, "Because the ending approaches. The testing begins," he turned.

"Testing of what?"

"The Reality Bomb."

~8~

The prisoners were led into a large chamber of metal and stone, "Prisoners will stand in the designated area," a Dalek ordered, "Move! Move!" the chamber was full of Daleks in the air and on the ground, a woman fell to her knees as Jackie moved to help her, "You will stand!"

"I can't," the woman trembled.

"You will stand."

Sarah Jane noticed a door beside them, only a few short feet away, with a small round window and made a dash for it, using the mass of humans around them and the fallen woman as a distraction to not be seen by the Daleks.

"I can't," the woman pleaded, "Please…"

"On your feet! On your feet!"

Mickey, who had seen Sarah Jane move and followed with his back to her, blocking her even more, guarding her, glanced back as she opened the door with her sonic lipstick, "Mickey!" she hissed, "Mickey!"

"Jackie!" Mickey called, following after Sarah Jane into a small side chamber. Jackie, helping the woman up, couldn't follow unnoticed.

Sarah Jane and Mickey watched through the window as the Daleks moved, not seeming to have noticed two insignificant humans disappear, "Prisoners will stand in the designated area."

"We can't just leave her," Mickey whispered shakily as he made for the door.

"Wait!" Sarah Jane pulled him back, a Dalek gliding in front of it.

"What does it mean?" the woman turned to Jackie, terrified, "What are they testing? What are they going to do?"

Jackie looked towards a large circular green device above their heads, "I reckon it's that thing there."

~8~

"Testing calibration of Reality Bomb," the Supreme Dalek's voice came over the comm. as Rose and the Doctor looked up, "Firing in ten rels, 9, 8, 7…"

"Behold...the apotheosis of my genius," Davros switched on a holographic screen of the testing chamber.

"...2, 1, 0. Activate planetary alignment field!"

~8~

The entire TARDIS shuddered a moment before steadying.

The New Doctor ran to the monitor, alarmed, something powerful enough to shake the TARDIS was NOT good, "It's the planets. The 27 planets…" he watched as the planets began to glow white, Donna getting up to join him, frowning as she watched.

~8~

"But that's Z-Neutrino Energy!" the Doctor shouted from the holding cell, "Flattened by the alignment of the planets into a single stream. No…" he looked at Davros, panicked as he realized just what the man was planning to do, "Davros...Davros, you can't! You CAN'T! NO!"

~8~

The New Doctor watched with his brows furrowed as he tried to figure out what was going on, "Single-stream Z-Neutrinos compressed into..." he gasped, "No. No way..."

The glow increased.

Angel shut her eyes, able to see the blinding light from the ground and it...hurt...it just _hurt_...everything hurt so much...

~8~

Sarah Jane and Mickey watched as the prisoners looked up at the light starting to gather above them. Mickey squinted, hearing a beep sound from just beyond the door, "Thirty minutes..." he realized, "It's recharged!" he mouthed at Jackie, gesturing frantically to the Dimension Jump he'd tossed to her earlier in favor of his gun, "It's recharged! It's recharged! Use it!"

Jackie quickly pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the woman beside her, "I'm so sorry," they saw her mouth before she pressed the button and disappeared, reappearing beside Mickey who hugged her tightly. She couldn't risk taking the woman along and breaking the jump any more than it already was. The comm. to Rose went down when SHE had jumped with Mickey, she could only imagine what might break if she tried to take more people with her...and the Daleks would be sure to notice a group of humans suddenly disappear...

Or perhaps not because...

The light intensified as they turned back to watch on as the prisoners were dissolved into atoms from head to toe before the light gently faded.

"Test completed," a Dalek announced, leaving the three humans horrified.

~8~

"What is it?" Donna turned to the New Doctor, "Doctor? What did it do?" but he couldn't answer, only stare in disgust.

Neither of them noticed Angel's eyes stop fluttering behind her lids or her breathing slow, she was just...tired... _so_ _tired_...

~8~

"Doctor, what happened?" Rose looked at the Doctor, but he couldn't speak.

"Electrical energy, Miss Tyler," Davros replied as the Doctor stared at him in shock, "Every atom in existence is bound by an electrical field. The Reality Bomb cancels it out, structure falls apart. That test was focused on the prisoners alone. Full transmission will dissolve _every_ form of matter."

"The stars are going out…"

"The 27 planets...they become one vast transmitter," the Doctor worked it out, "Blasting that wavelength..."

"Across the entire Universe," Davros smirked, "Never stopping. Never faltering. Never _fading_ ," he laughed, seeing the Doctor flinch at that word, at that reminder of his Mate's death, "People and planets and stars will become dust. And the dust will become atoms and the atoms will become...nothing. And the wavelength will continue, breaking through the Rift at the heart of the Medusa Cascade into every dimension, every parallel, every single corner of creation," his voice became more hysterical, "This is my ultimate victory, Doctor! The destruction of reality itself!"

~8~

"Prepare for universal detonation!" the Supreme Dalek ordered, "The fleet will gather at the Crucible!" the Daleks filed in, "All Daleks will return to shelter from the cataclysm!" the ships zoomed away from the Earth, leaving the humans to their fate, "We will become the only life forms in existence!"

And finally, the Daleks would truly reign supreme!

~8~

Sylvia ran from her house, looking up at the sky, grinning, "Look, they're leaving! Dad, they're going! The Daleks are going!"

"Going where, though?" Wilf frowned, knowing there was more to it than that, an enemy never retreated when they were so near to victory unless they had an even more deadly attack coming, he'd learned that in the war, "And Donna's still out there," Sylvia's smile faded, "It's not over yet, sweetheart."

~8~

Jackie, Mickey, and Sarah Jane remained in the side room, looking out at the testing chamber, when Jack tumbled out of an air vent beside them, making them all spin around, "Just my luck. I climb through two miles of ventilation shafts, chasing life signs on this thing…" he gestured his manipulator, "...and who do I find? Mickey Mouse!"

"You can talk, Captain Cheesecake," Mickey grinned, laughing as he and Jack shared a manly hug.

"Good to see ya! And that's 'Beefcake.'"

"And that's enough hugging," he smiled, "I need to save the rest for my Pilot eh?" he nudged Jack...only for his wide smile to start to fade, seeing the solemn look that had replaced Jack's joking one, the tears forming in Sarah Jane's eyes, "What is it?" he looked between them, that sinking feeling in his gut reappearing, "What happened to Angel?"

He knew, he just KNEW, it had to be her, something had to have happened to her.

"Mickey," Sarah Jane began quietly, reaching out a gentle hand to touch his shoulder, "She's...well, she's..." but she couldn't bring herself to say it, only shake her head, trying to blink back her tears.

"She's what?" Mickey asked, his voice starting to tremble.

"She's dead," Jack stated, his own voice cracking.

Mickey's head snapped to the side as he stared at Jack with wide eyes, "What do you mean she's DEAD?!" he demanded, "She _can't_ be dead!"

"She was ill," Sarah Jane tried to help, "She said she was dying but..." even SHE looked at Jack alarmed, "She couldn't have...it was only a few moments ago we saw her in the subwave network and..."

Jack swallowed hard, steeling himself to tell them what had happened, "The TARDIS was taken, we left her inside the box to protect her but the Daleks..." he shook his head, tears making his eyes shine, "They opened a trapdoor, dropped it right into the heart of the Crucible, her and Donna they..."

He couldn't even bring himself to say it. He could barely stand to think of it, that Angel had...burned to death...it wasn't right, it wasn't right at all...

Mickey shook his head, "Don't say that," he whispered, before glaring, "Don't you dare say that!" he shoved Jack back, into the wall, his hands curled around Jack's lapels, "Don't you say that to me!"

"Mickey!" Jackie gasped, startled at his sudden and quite violent reaction.

"She can't be dead!" he shouted in Jack's face though he had tears in his eyes, "She can't be..." he added quieter, his grip loosening but he didn't back away, "She can't be...she's _Angel_...she can't just...she can't be gone...she can't be dead..."

She couldn't be, she was his Pilot, she was the woman who was always there for him, the one who encouraged him, believed in him when no one else did, the one who made him who he was...

How could she be dead?

How could she have died and he not have felt it?

"She can't be dead," he repeated, blinking as a tear fell.

"I know," Jack nodded, reaching out to grab Mickey's hands, lowering them, before pulling him into another manly hug, but a tighter one.

He knew how important Angel was to the boy, they'd talked, during the Year-That-Never-Was, she'd told him so many stories about Mickey the Magnificent as she loved calling him, quite a difference from the Doctor's Mickey the Idiot. He knew Mickey of course, met him when Margaret the Slitheen had attacked, but hearing about the man from Angel's perspective, about the man who was her first companion, his deeds, how he'd grown...

He'd seen it even now, at the first sight, just how different this Mickey Smith was. He held himself differently, he was more confident, more at ease, more determined and brave and stronger...and he knew, Angel had done that.

It was all because of Angel.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to Mickey.

The man nodded and pulled back, "The Daleks," he swallowed, looking at Jack with a hard look in his eyes, "They killed her?"

"Yeah."

Mickey nodded, "Angel wouldn't want us to kill them in return, would she?"

"No."

Mickey was silent a moment, "But Angel isn't here anymore is she?"

Jack couldn't help the small smile that grew on his face, "No, she isn't."

"Then I say we find the Daleks, and show them what happens to anything that hurts her."

Jack nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

Mickey Smith certainly had grown up.

"This might help," Sarah Jane cut in gently, "You've got to understand, I have a son down there on Earth. He's only fourteen years old. I brought this," she pulled out a diamond on a necklace, the gleam unnaturally bright, "It was given to me by a Verron Soothsayer. He said 'this is for the end of days,'" she gave it to Jack.

"Is that a Warp Star?" he breathed, staring at the diamond with his mouth open.

"Gonna tell me what a Warp Star is?" Mickey asked as Sarah Jane nodded her answer to Jack's question.

"A warpfold conjugation trapped in a carbonized shell. It's an explosion, Mickey," he looked at Sarah Jane in awe, "An explosion waiting to happen."

~8~

A screen on the terminal before Martha sprang to life, a Chinese UNIT soldier online, "This is Osterhagen Station Five. Are you receiving, Station One?"

"I've got you," she nodded, "That makes three of us, and three is all we need."

"My name is Anna Zhou. What's yours?"

"Martha Jones," she looked at another station that had connected just before Anna had, "What about you, Station Four? You never said."

"I don't want my name on this," the Liberian UNIT soldier glared, "Given what we're about to do."

Martha looked at the Osterhagen Key in her hand.

"So, what happens now?" the Chinese soldier asked, actually sounding a little excited, "Do we do it?"

"No, not yet," Martha shook her head.

"UNIT instructions say once three Osterhagen Stations are online, we…"

"Yeah, well I've got a higher authority. _Way_ above UNIT. And there's one more thing the Doctor and Angel would do..."

~8~

The New Doctor dashed around the console, putting together something, "So, what is this thing?" Donna asked, following him, watching him closely.

"It's our only hope. A Z-Neutrino biological inversion catalyzer."

"Yeah. Earth-girl, remember?"

"Davros said he built those Daleks out of himself," he explained quickly as he screwed in parts, "His genetic code runs through the entire race. If I can use this to lock the Crucible's transmission onto Davros himself..."

"It destroys Daleks?" she guessed.

"Biggest backfire in history."

Donna nodded, trying to follow, before she realized...Angel would have tried to explain it by now, even just a little, and turned to go check on the girl. Her heart racing at seeing her lying there, unmoving, her eyes closed...

~8~

"Incoming transmission," a Dalek called over the comm., "Origin: planet Earth."

"Display," the Supreme Dalek ordered.

A holographic screen appeared with Martha on it, "This is Martha Jones representing the Unified Intelligence Taskforce on behalf of the Human Race. Can you hear me?"

"Send transmission to the Vault. Continue to monitor."

~8~

A holographic screen turned on in the Vault, Martha appearing before them all on it, "This message is for the Dalek Crucible. Repeat: can you hear me?"

"Put me through!" the Doctor called.

"It begins as Dalek Caan foretold," Davros laughed.

"The Children of Time will gather...and one of them will die!" Caan cried.

"Stop saying that!" the Doctor glared, "Put me through!"

"Doctor!" Martha saw him, "I'm sorry. I had to."

"Oh!" Davros chuckled, "But the Doctor is powerless, my prisoner. State your intent."

"I've got the Osterhagen Key," she held it up, "Leave this planet and its people alone, or I'll use it."

"Osterhagen what?" the Doctor asked, "What's an Osterhagen Key?"

"There's a chain of 25 nuclear warheads placed in strategic points beneath the Earth's crust. If I use the key, they detonate and the Earth gets ripped apart."

"What?! Who invented that?! Well, someone called Osterhagen, I suppose, but Martha, are you _insane_?!"

"The Osterhagen Key is to be used if the suffering of the Human Race is so great, so without hope...that this becomes the final option."

"That's NEVER an option."

"Don't _argue_ with me, Doctor! 'Cos there's more than that. Now, I reckon the Daleks need these 27 planets for something, but what if it becomes 26? What happens _then_? Daleks? Would you risk it?"

"She's good," Rose commented, nodding, impressed.

Martha Jones certainly was as brilliant as Mickey claimed.

"Who's that?" Martha turned to see her.

"My name's Rose. Rose Tyler."

"Oh, my God..." Martha's eyes widened before turning to scan the Doctor, putting a hand to her mouth when she didn't see Angel or the TARDIS there...her mind already working out what might have happened to the girl and the box.

~8~

"Doctor…" Donna gasped, he looked over at her, kneeling beside Angel, concerned. Donna looked at him, tears in her eyes, "She's not waking up. I…I've tried waking her up, but…she…she won't wake up…"

The New Doctor scrambled over to Angel's side as she laid on the floor, unconscious, her face scrunched in pain as she panted, her breaths coming in short and erratic. Even though he didn't have a sonic, he didn't need one. He didn't need to scan her to know what was happening.

"Oh God…" Donna gasped, seeing the look on his face.

Angel was truly nearing her end.

~8~

"Second transmission: internal," a Dalek reported.

"Display," the Supreme Dalek ordered as another holographic screen appeared beside Martha's, this one with Jack holding the warp star connected to wires, Jackie, Mickey, and Sarah Jane beside him.

"Captain Jack Harkness calling all Dalek boys and girls!" Jack smirked, "Are you receiving me? Don't send in your goons or I'll set this thing off."

~8~

"He's still alive!" Rose gaped, completely stunned to see Jack alive once more, not understanding how that was possible given that he'd been shot by a Dalek, "Oh, my God, that's…" and then she saw the blonde woman beside Mickey, "That's my mum!"

"Sorry," Mickey winced, "She grabbed on at the last second."

Rose couldn't say anything against that as she saw the tears in Mickey's eyes, the solemn expression on his face and she knew...Jack had told him about Angel.

"Captain, what are you doing?" the Doctor called, feeling a sense of dread in him as he caught sight of the thing dangling in the man's hand.

"I've got a Warp Star wired into the mainframe," Jack threatened, "I break the shell...the entire Crucible goes up."

"You can't! Where did you get a Warp Star?!"

"From me," Sarah Jane called, "We had no choice, we saw what happened to the prisoners."

"Impossible," Davros stared, staring at Sarah Jane, "That face...after all these years."

"Davros…" Sarah Jane whispered, glaring, "It's been quite a while. Sarah Jane Smith. Remember?"

"Oh, this is meant to be," Davros smiled, even more amused by this than having the Doctor trapped behind him, "The Circle of Time is closing. You were there on Skaro at the very beginning of my creation."

"And I've learned how to fight since then. You let the Doctor go or this Warp Star...it gets opened!"

The Doctor looked down, he just…he couldn't look at any of them. Was this what they all came to with only his presence there? Was this what they would become without Angel there to balance them? He knew the answer from his own experience, yes, it was like it for him. Had Angel been there, he knew, they would have NEVER considered what they were, because Angel would have found a way to stop them, to argue with them, remind them of how important their lives were and those of everyone on Earth. But...he couldn't...not right now...right now...nothing was important to him anymore. Without Angel...all the darkness and the hate and the anger just...boiled within him. It was there, even now, it was rising, it was consuming him.

The only thing keeping it back, keeping him from agreeing out loud with his companions' plans to blow the Earth or the Crucible up was...THEY were there. His companions, yes, but... _Angel's family_. He was fully prepared to take himself out in order to stop the Daleks, prayed for it even, but not them...he couldn't kill the last link he had to Angel, her family.

He couldn't let them become this either...he couldn't let everything Angel loved about them die, no matter how much he wished to just let them do it, to kill him so he could see her again.

"I'll do it," Jack tugged at the necklace, "Don't imagine I wouldn't."

Rose smiled, "Now, that's what I call a ransom…" but then she noticed the Doctor's face, the internal war he seemed to be facing, "Doctor?"

"And the prophesy unfolds," Davros turned to him.

"The Doctor's soul is revealed!" Caan cheered, "See him! See the heart of him!"

Rose watched on as the Doctor stood there, alone, his eyes downcast, burdened with unbearable guilt and knowing the one person who could lift it...wasn't there.

"The man who abhors violence, never carrying a gun," Davros continued, "But _this_ is the truth, Doctor: you take ordinary people and you fashion THEM into weapons, into weapons not even your MATE could save them from becoming. Behold your Children of Time transformed into _murderers_. I made the Daleks, Doctor. You made this."

"They're trying to help," the Doctor whispered.

Angel would want them to help but...not like this...

"Already, I have seen them sacrifice today for their beloved Doctor. The Earth woman who fell opening the subwave network..."

"Who was that?" he frowned, looking up, alarmed to discover another person had died and he hadn't even known. Angel would have known, with all her abilities, healthy, she would have sensed it the moment it happened...no...she would have sensed what was happening and saved whoever the 'Earth woman.'

"Harriet Jones," Rose said as he stared at her, stunned, "She gave her life to get you here."

"How many more?" Davros wondered, "Just think. How many have died in your name? Your Mate was only the most recent Doctor..."

The Doctor looked down, his mind drifting back…

Jape, her hands on a lever on Platform One…

Mr. Skinner and Bridget, murdered by the Absorbaloff…

The Face of Boe, dying on New Earth…

Even River in the Library…

And then he blinked.

There had been so many, _so many_ people who had NEARLY died in his name. The Controller, Lynda, Sir Robert, Mrs. Moore, Ursula, Chantho, Astrid, Luke, Jenny…and so many more, all of them, by rights, probably should have been dead if not for Angel. She had saved them. Her and her abilities, she had saved _so many people_ he couldn't. She was always there for him, his light in the darkness, his angel.

But she wasn't there now…she wasn't there to guide them all out of the darkness with her warmth and her hearts. He closed his eyes, barely holding it together as he trembled, broken, she was dead. Davros was right, she was dead because of him. She wouldn't be there to save anyone, and really…was anything worth saving anymore…was his life even worth living without her?

She was his hearts and soul, his entire Universe.

"The Doctor...the man who keeps running," Davros spoke, taking great pleasure in the Doctor's suffering, "Never looking back, because he dare not, out of _shame_. This is my final victory, Doctor. I have shown you...yourself."

The Doctor closed his eyes, seeming entirely broken. He just brought death and destruction wherever he went, even to his own Mate.

"Enough," the Supreme Dalek called through the comm., "Engage defense zero-five."

"It's the Crucible...or the Earth," Martha threatened.

"Transmat engaged!" a Dalek called.

"No!" Martha shouted as she was teleported out, dropping the key, along with Jack, Sarah Jane, Mickey, and Jackie, the Warp Star falling to the ground, unbroken.

They all appeared in the Vault, picking themselves up, "Martha!" Jack helped her, "I've got you, it's alright…"

"Don't move!" the Doctor shouted, the darkness in his eyes as they snapped open, if he brought death and destruction, he would make sure the Daleks felt it first, "All of you! Stay still!"

The group froze, _never_ having heard such a tone from the Doctor before, not even Rose and SHE had been the companion when he'd been fresh from the War.

"Guard them!" Davros shouted as the Daleks advanced, "On your knees, all of you. Surrender!"

The Daleks forced the humans to their knees, their hands behind their heads, "Mum, I told you not to!" Rose hissed at her.

"Yeah, but I couldn't leave you," Jackie shouted.

"The final prophesy is in place," Davros said, "The Doctor and his children all gathered as witnesses. Supreme Dalek...the time has come!" his voice rose in excitement, "Now..." he pointed up, "Detonate the Reality Bomb!"

"Activate planetary alignment field!" the Supreme Dalek commanded. The planets began to shimmer and glow, "Universal reality detonation in 200 rels!"

Davros continued to point a shaking finger up, smiling evilly.

"You can't, Davros!" the Doctor cried, despite his ultimate plans to wipe them out, despite his anger, he knew Angel wouldn't want this to happen, she'd only just gotten the chance to see the wonders of the Universe and she already had loved it. He couldn't let the mad alien destroy all that. For Angel...he'd stop them, "Just listen to me! Just STOP!"

The planets grew brighter.

"Nothing can stop the detonation!" Davros chuckled, "Nothing! And no one!"

~8~

The New Doctor ran to the console, a gun-like device in his hand, "Ready! Maximum power!" he kicked a lever upwards with his foot and pulled another one while Donna kept vigil over Angel as her breaths grew fainter.

~8~

The TARDIS materialized with a familiar wheeze inside the Vault.

"But that's..." the Doctor's eyes widened, feeling his hearts restart at the sight of it...if the TARDIS hadn't been destroyed...then Angel was still in there!

Caan laughed, well, cackled madly really, as Rose and Martha's mouths fell open at the sight of the old, blue box.

"Impossible," Davros gaped.

"Yes!" Mickey cheered, breathing a sigh of relief to see the box again.

The TARDIS glowed with a bright white light inside as the New Doctor stepped out, framed by the door, "Brilliant!" Jack called, awed.

The Doctor's mouth hung open with disbelief as Davros wheeled backwards, afraid. The New Doctor ran forward, the device in hand.

"Don't!" the Doctor warned.

~8~

Donna looked up, hearing one of the Doctors shouting.

She glanced back at Angel and then the door...torn...

~8~

Davros pointed at the New Doctor and shot him with a bolt of electricity, making him fall to the ground, dropping the weapon, winded, "Activate holding cell!"

~8~

"I'm sorry," Donna whispered, kissing Angel's too-hot forehead before getting up and running towards the doors, she had to help.

She knew that's what Angel would want, what she always wanted, the Doctor safe.

~8~

A holding cell sprang up around the New Doctor just as Donna ran out of the TARDIS, "Doctor!" she gasped, picking up the device, "I've got it! But I don't know what to do!"

Davros shot her with a bolt as well, sending her flying backwards.

"Donna!" the Doctor called as Donna, Angel's other sister, fell in a heap on the opposite end of the Vault, "Donna! Are you alright, Donna?!"

"Destroy the weapon!" Davros shouted. A Dalek fired a laser at the device, blasting it to pieces, "I was wrong about your warriors, Doctor. They are pathetic."

"How comes there're two of you?!" Rose looked at the Doctor, stunned.

"Human biological metacrisis," he breathed, "Never mind that, now we've got no way of stopping the Reality Bomb."

"Detonation in 20 rels!" the Supreme Dalek reported, "19…"

"Stand witness, Time Lord," Davros smirked, "Stand witness, humans," he activated the screen of the planets again, "Your strategies have failed, your weapons are useless, and...oh, the end of the Universe is come."

~8~

Angel let out a single breath, her hearts slowing to a stop, her head lulling to the side as her chest ceased to rise...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O.O
> 
> The scene with Mickey and Jack literally had me in tears writing it. But even more so...poor Angel, she wanted to die surrounded by family, the Doctor promised that he would be there, that she wouldn't be alone... :'( I suppose we'll find out in the next chapter exactly whether Angel will 'pull a Jack' or anything like that. 
> 
> So...if it's ok with you...I'm just gonna go run and hide right now... -runs away-


	47. Journey's End: Regeneration

"9...8...7...6..."

So focused was everyone on the planets that none of them noticed the brilliant orange/gold energy flare up within the windows of the TARDIS.

"5...4...3...2...1..."

"No," a voice called firmly.

They looked over to see _Angel_ standing in the doorway of the old blue box, swirling with golden Vortex energy, but not only that, orange regeneration energy as well. The force of it billowing around her.

She held out a hand and the machine glowed golden, powering down as though the energy and power had been sucked from it.

"Angel…" the Doctor breathed, his eyes wide in a mixture of relief at seeing her still alive, at seeing her appear...stronger...than he'd left her, and absolute terror at seeing her once again consumed by the Vortex, knowing what might happen next, what dangers could come from taking in the Heart of the TARDIS once more.

But Angel didn't seem concerned with that at all as she simply smiled at him, "Doctor."

"Wait a minute…" Rose frowned, staring at Angel, "You sound like… _you_ …"

The Doctor's eyes widened at the realization that Angel's voice was _not_ echoing as it did in times past, but was all her own.

"Systems in shutdown!" a Dalek reported, trying to examine what Angel had done to their machines.

"Detonation negative," a second one added.

"Explain!" the Supreme Dalek cried, "Explain! EXPLAIN!"

"You will suffer for this," Davros turned his glare on the Time Lady, firing a bolt at Angel who merely held up a hand, using the power of the Vortex to deflect it back at him. He shrieked in pain.

"You and your children have harmed for the last time," Angel told them, eyeing Davros with her swirling yellow eyes.

"Exterminate her! Exterminate the abomination!"

"Exterminate!" the Daleks turned their laser arms at her, "Exterminate!"

The Doctor looked at Angel fearfully but she simply held out both her hands this time, "No more," she said, and...

The Daleks powered down before they were all encased in a swirl of golden energy, slowing them down even more until they were almost frozen.

"Time-lock…" the New Doctor breathed, "She's individually time-locked them!"

"Angel please," the Doctor pounded against the holding cell, his mind catching up to him, "Give it back, you have to let go! You need to release the Vortex!"

She was _dying_ , she wasn't strong enough, the Vortex...what if it killed her? It HAD killed her in the past, she had regenerated then, but...she had been so weak before, what if she didn't make it? What if it burned out both her hearts before she had time and...what if she just...didn't regenerate like they feared?

Angel shook her head softly, closing her eyes a moment, the group watching in awe as the brilliant golden energy of the Vortex calmed and dissipated to a gentle golden glow, showing her control over it, though she still swirled with orange regeneration energy, "I can't," she said calmly, opening her eyes, the golden glow lessened from there as well, her brown eyes shining, the golden flecks glowing though, still giving it a golden hue. She walked over to him, past Davros, ignoring the presence of their enemies as she focused on the Doctor, "The TARDIS told me."

"What?" he shook his head, not understanding a single word of that. How could she be so calm when not only the Vortex was in her but she'd been dying before?!

"The first time I used the Vortex, when I stopped the Daleks on the Game Station, it was meant to familiarize my body with its power," she explained, "But you pulled it out of me before it could complete the process. The second time I _had_ to regenerate, it was meant to trigger the process of fusing the Vortex with me," she smiled, placing her hand on the holding cell as he did the same immediately, "It's why it didn't leave me when we left Kroptor, it's why I had to beg the TARDIS to take it. She wouldn't let it go, she wouldn't take it back, unless I promised to accept the power she wanted me to have. She left a part of it in me Doctor, a part that was meant to grow stronger as I did. And it did."

"What?" he gaped at her.

"It was always there inside me Doctor," she continued, listing only a few of the times it had appeared, "It helped me stop the Elemental Shade, keep Chloe's father's picture at bay, kept the Daleks away in the Sphere Room. It saved Lance and the Dalek-Humans and Bannakaffalatta and Gray. It protected me from the star and us from the bullets when Martha's family was taken by the Master. It...bought you back to me when you went to face the Sontarans..."

"This whole time..." he stared at her, stunned.

She nodded, "I understand now, it was _always_ meant to be my power to wield Doctor. My natural affinity with time, my connection to the TARDIS, my sensations…it was a gift I was always meant to have. I can't give it back, because it _is_ me."

"But the power…" his hearts thudding at the thought of what all that power inside her could mean...

"Donna," she smiled, cutting into his words lightly, as though sensing his thoughts, "Why don't you let them out?"

They looked over to see Donna was standing by the Dalek controls, "You got it," she smiled, tapping away, "Holding cells...deactivated," the lights faded, "And seal the Vault."

"How did you _do_ that?" the Doctor looked at Donna, almost as stunned by that as by the revelation that Angel had had the Vortex inside of her since Kroptor and he hadn't even noticed. Well, he'd noticed little odd things here and there, but...he NEVER would have expected THAT.

"Time Lord," the New Doctor said, "Part Time Lord."

"Part Human!" Donna beamed, "Oh, yes!"

"There was a _three-way_ biological metacrisis," Angel added.

"Three-way!?" the Doctor cast his wide eyes on her.

"I absorbed just enough of Donna's humanity to not become corrupt by the power of the Vortex," she smiled, "And Donna…"

"Half Doctor...half Donna," she cried, "With just a sprinkle of Angel."

"The Doctor-Donna-Angel..." the Doctor looked at Donna, "Just like the Ood said, remember? They saw it coming! The Doctor-Donna-Angel," and then he blinked, "They saw your song ending..." he looked at Angel, his hearts starting to race again...

"Wait!" Jack called, his eyes on Angel, his mind seeming to wonder the same thing despite not knowing about the Ood prophecy, "Angie...are you regenerating?"

He was praying to every single deity he'd ever heard of that she was. He knew she and the Doctor had been terrified that she wouldn't regenerate, and it looked that way on the TARDIS. There hadn't been any sign that she would...but...there was _orange_ around her as well...

And the orange swirl was getting brighter.

"The Vortex is holding it off for now," she nodded.

The Doctor let out a breath, tears in his eyes, "You're...regenerating?"

The tears were happy, if she was regenerating...then she would live!

She smiled and nodded, "I've been as connected to the TARDIS as I always was, despite my visions fading and my body failing," she told him, shifting her hand a bit to interlock their fingers. Their hands were still raised, still touching where they had been when the holding cell had been on, but now actually truly touching, he could feel how warm her hands were compared to how cold they had been, "We were afraid that I wouldn't regenerate because there would be no future for me, that I would just regenerate to die again because the TARDIS was sick," her smile widened, "But the TARDIS _isn't_ sick any longer, there is no paradox to reverse."

He blinked...that actually...made quite a lot of sense. There would have been no point in her regenerating on the _Valiant_ , she would have just continued to die as the TARDIS struggled to survive, if her body could even handle it. Being in the eye of the time reversal had made her body remember it was dying...but only to the point where time had been reversed. She couldn't regenerate and die again or continue to die because...they had never made it to that point on the _Valiant_. She wouldn't snap back again, because her body was failing, she truly would die this time, but...there WAS a future now. The TARDIS was healthy and fine and alive and...so was Angel.

The TARDIS had been fine last time and she'd snapped back, only to die the same way.

But THIS time...the TARDIS was fine and would be fine and her body would have nothing to snap back to as time _wasn't_ going to reverse again, it would just...continue...start a new life.

Angel was going to live!

"The Vortex," she squeezed his hand, "It can't hold the regeneration back forever though, we need to hurry."

"Angel…" he began, just...looking at her with tears, happy and sad tears in his eyes. Happy she was alive and would survive, but sad because...it meant she really _was_ going to die, and regenerate, but still...die...

"Doctor," she looked at him, still smiling the smile he loved so much, seeming to have a strength in her despite her body appearing to be near death, "Trust me…everything'll be _fine_."

"You heard her!" Donna shouted, knowing Angel was trying to reassure him but also knowing that the girl needed to make sure everything was safe before she let the regeneration take its course, and she just... _knew_...holding back the regeneration for too long wouldn't be good, "I could use some help over here, so don't just stand there, you skinny boys in suits, get to work!"

The Doctors exchanged a look before the New Doctor dashed off to join Donna at the control panel.

"Go," Angel squeezed the Doctor's hand.

He beamed, feeling the strength in her squeeze, and kissed her quickly, twice, before rushing off to help. The sooner they got everything under control the sooner he could be with Angel as she died...just as he'd promised.

Angel watched him go, just a hint of sadness in her eyes as she caught that last thought. She had already died. She'd felt it, she HAD died in the TARDIS and THAT was what triggered the regeneration. But she would never tell him that, not ever, it would devastate him to know. And it didn't matter, she was still technically alive and, when the regeneration finally was completed and this version of her truly died, he would be there.

"Get them away from the controls!" Davros aimed his blaster again, knowing the rest of his Daleks would be useless as they were time-locked, even the Supreme Dalek was trapped, only Dalek Caan unaffected and that Dalek was insane. He made to fire when Angel threw out a hand, the golden glow blazing out around her, and he was sent flying backwards.

"Now..." Donna grinned, "Let's send those planets home! Did I ever tell you," she pointed to herself, "Best temp in Chiswick?" she mimed typing, "A hundred words per minute! Supertemp, right Supergirl?" she called to Angel as the other ginger laughed, "And activate magnetron..."

"Ha!" the New Doctor smiled.

"Stop it at once!" Davros ordered.

Angel just stepped before him, blocking him from the Doctors and Donna, "It's over Davros."

"You will desist!"

Mickey ran beside her with a large gun Jack had grabbed from the TARDIS, seeing the golden energy fading a bit as the orange grew stronger, knowing instinctively that his Pilot needed help, "Just stay where you are Mister," he threatened Davros before winking at Angel as she beamed at him.

"Ready?" Donna looked at the Doctors, "And reverse!" she and the Doctors eased out two rods on each side of the controls, the planets disappearing in flashes of light, one by one.

"Off you go, Clom," the Doctor smiled.

"Back home, Adipose Three!" the New Doctor nodded.

"Shallacatop!" Donna flicked a switch, "Pyrovillia! The Lost Moon of Poosh. Topping. Ha!"

"Ha!" the New Doctor cheered.

"We need more power..." the Doctor grumbled.

"Leave it to me," Angel stepped beside him, smiling at him before she turned and rested her hands on the console, closing her eyes as she focused, the three watching as the Vortex energy rippled out of her and into the systems.

"Is anyone gonna tell us what's going on?" Rose laughed, just _so_ relieved to see that Angel seemed to be ok or at least about to regenerate.

"He poured all his regeneration energy into his spare hand," Donna pointed at the Doctor, "I touched the hand and Angel touched me…" she moved her finger to the New Doctor, "He grew out of that, but some of that fed back into me. But, it just stayed dormant in my head till the synapses got that little extra spark, kicking them into life. Thank you, Davros! Part Human...part Time Lord. And I got a great bit of the Doctor, I got his confidence and just a bit of his mind to boot."

"I told you you were special Donna," Angel opened her eyes to smile at the ginger, "You're _so_ special that the timelines united around you."

"Human being with Time Lord qualities," the Doctor grinned.

"But you promised me, Dalek Caan," Davros lamented, spinning to point an accusing finger at the insane Dalek, "Why did you not foresee this?"

Caan just laughed.

"He _did_ ," Angel answered knowingly, "Something was manipulating the timelines right from the start. Something got Donna to where she needed to be to begin her journey with us."

"This would always have happened," Caan said, "I only helped."

"You...betrayed the Daleks?" Davros breathed.

"I SAW the Daleks. What we have done throughout time and space. I saw the truth of us, Creator, and I decreed 'no more.'"

Davros growled and fired a bolt at Caan, only for it to strike the edge of the Dalek's casing and bounce off, hitting the magnetron instead.

"Oh, we've lost the magnetron!" the Doctor's eyes widened, "And there's only one planet left, oh…" he shook his head with a laugh, "Guess which one. Look, we can use the TARDIS and..."

"Doctor," Angel hunched over suddenly, the golden energy now only faintly there, the orange regeneration energy taking over, using the Vortex to help give the machine a boost had given the regeneration more time to take hold. The Doctor nodded, running to her side and helping her into the TARDIS where she would be able to safely regenerate. He led her up to the console, rushing around it, pressing buttons, glancing at Angel from time to time as the golden energy and orange energy seemed to clash, trying to hold the other back as long as possible.

~8~

"Holding Earth stability..." the New Doctor said, "Maintaining atmospheric shell."

"The prophesy must complete," Caan reminded him.

"Don't listen to him," Davros cried.

"I have seen the end of everything Dalek, and _you_ must make it happen, Doctor."

"He's right," the New Doctor realized, "Because with or without a Reality Bomb, this Dalek Empire's big enough to slaughter the cosmos. They've got to be stopped!"

"Just…just wait for the Doctor," Donna said hurriedly, the other humans around them shifting uneasily, none of them had been about to leave the New Doctor or Donna undefended against Davros.

"I _am_ the Doctor," he countered, getting to work.

~8~

Angel's eyes snapped open, "Doctor!" she shouted as he ran to her side, "No, the other one!"

His eyes widened and he ran for the doors...

~8~

"Maximizing Dalekanium power feeds," the New Doctor said, "Blasting them BACK!"

He hit a button and the Daleks exploded within their time-locks just as the Doctor ran out of the doors, "What've you done?!" he cried, horrified.

"Fulfilling the prophesy."

The Dalek ships started to explode.

~8~

The Daleks outside the time-lock of Torchwood exploded as did the time-lock itself. The group shielded their faces for a moment before Tosh sighed, seeing her work destroyed, "There goes the time-lock."

Owen just laughed and put his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to his side. At least they were alive and safe again.

~8~

Everyone in the Vault was sent flying around by the force of the explosions, "Do you know what you've done?" the Doctor glared at the New Doctor.

"Doctor!" Angel strained to call from within the TARDIS.

He looked back to see the orange light start to shine instead of the gold and knew what that meant, "Now, get in the TARDIS!" he turned to everyone, "Everyone! All of you inside, run! In, in, in, in, in!"

They all ran into the TARDIS, hearing Davros shouting behind them, "Never forget, Doctor, YOU did this! I name YOU, forever, YOU are the Destroyer of Worlds!"

The Doctor just shut the doors behind him as the humans stepped back. Angel threw her head back and her arms out as the energy swirled around her, the golden energy brightening but seeming to seep inside of her in the process. The Doctor made his way past the small group of humans to the front, watching as the energy faded and Angel fell forward out of the regeneration.

He ran to her, grabbing her by the shoulders before she fell, straightening her, "You alright?" he asked, reaching out to touch her cheek, turning her head up to his, "Angel?"

She blinked her eyes a few times before looking at him, her hair now shorter than before but still a bit past her shoulders and black, her eyes grey but with tiny little specks of gold still there, though now he knew it must be the Vortex within her. She was still just as pale as ever and he had to laugh, still no freckles. She opened her mouth to speak when a wisp of regeneration energy escaped. She laughed a bit and smiled at him, "Hello," her voice was just a note lower than before.

"Hello," he beamed. She looked wonderful, beautiful, healthy and strong and happy again.

Oh that was fantastic!

And then the TARDIS jolted.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the console, "And! Off we go!" he looked over at her as she pulled a lever, starting up the TARDIS, making the others fall down, hanging onto whatever they could for support.

~8~

The Crucible exploded into atoms as the TARDIS flew off.

~8~

"But what about the Earth?" Sarah Jane asked, "It's stuck in the wrong part of space!"

"We're on it," the Doctor winked as Angel moved around to the monitor, typing away as he came to join her, his hand moving to rest on the small of her back, "Torchwood Hub, this is the TARDIS. Are you receiving us?"

"Loud and clear," Tosh appeared, along with Ianto, Owen, and Gwen.

"Is Jack there?" Ianto asked immediately.

"Can't get rid of him," the Doctor glanced at Jack, "Rose, come and meet Gwen Cooper," he nodded her over, Rose stepping to his side, her eyes widening as she saw a girl who looked exactly like Gwyneth.

"Hello," Gwen gave a small wave, not really knowing why Rose was staring at her so awed.

"Her ancestor," Angel nodded, seeing where Rose's mind had gone.

"Spatial genetic multiplicity..."

"Oh, yeah!" Rose laughed as though she understood a word of that before pushing her way past him to hug Angel.

"Now, Torchwood, I want you to open up that Rift Manipulator," he told them, "Send all the power to us."

"On it," Owen nodded as he and Tosh got to work.

"What's that for?" Martha asked, coming around again to hug Angel as soon as Rose had let go of her.

"It's a tow-rope," Angel laughed, beaming as she pulled away.

Martha couldn't help but smile, it seemed Donna was not the only one more confident.

"Now then, Sarah," the Doctor looked over at Sarah Jane, "What was your son's name again?"

"Luke, he's called Luke," she said, rushing over to the monitor, "And the computer's called Mr. Smith."

"Calling Luke and Mr. Smith!" the Doctor shouted, tapping into the computer till an image of Luke in his attic appeared, "Come on, Luke, shake a leg!"

"Is mum there?" Luke jumped up and ran over.

"Oh, she's fine and dandy…"

"Yes!" Sarah Jane laughed with relief as Angel put an arm around her, hugging her on the side, "Yes!"

"Now, Mr. Smith, I want you to harness the Rift power and loop it round the TARDIS, you got that?"

"I regret I will need remote access to TARDIS base code numerals," Mr. Smith stated.

"I've got you covered Mr. Smith," Angel beamed, nudging the Doctor away and starting to type it in, the humans laughing as they saw the Doctor's eyes widen and mouth drop open as he watched her work. They could guess, by his expression, that for Angel to be able to input the basecode of the TARDIS was something amazing.

"You know the _entire_ basecode?" he stared at her.

She just looked up at him, her eyes shining merrily, not even needing to look down at the keys to continue typing, "I remember the basecode of every TARDIS that my family grew, every one that we ever repaired, and every one that was ever placed in the _museums_ ," she winked, they were always expected to inspect the museum pieces before they were stored away.

"Course she knows!" Mickey cheered, moving over to throw an arm around Angel's shoulders, squeezing her, "My Pilot is brilliant!"

Angel laughed, nudging Mickey back in a semi-hug as she couldn't keep typing with only one hand.

"That's...incredible," the Doctor breathed, just...smiling at her, as awed by her as he always was.

"Thanks," she smiled at him as well, blushing a bit at the praise, making all of them laugh. She seemed more confident yes, but she was still as modest as ever, "And...done!" she cheered, hitting the last key.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor laughed, "Now then, you lot," he winked at Angel, before turning to the group, "Sarah, hold that," he led her to a spot.

"And Mickey, you hold that," Angel pointed, involving him as she always did, "Just like I showed you."

"Because, you know why this TARDIS is always rattling about the place?"

"You leave the brakes on?" Angel guessed, knowingly.

"Rose, that there," the Doctor ignored her, though the smile never left his face, "It was designed to have six pilots and Angel and I have to do it single handed."

"Martha," Angel walked around to her, moving her beside Mickey, "Keep this level. But no more than it is right now ok?" Martha nodded.

"Jack, there you go, steady that," the Doctor added, "Now we can fly this thing…" he spotted Jackie next and hesitated, "No, Jackie. No, no. Not you," he patted her shoulder, "Don't touch anything, just...stand back."

But Angel, as always, would have none of that, and put an arm around the woman's shoulder, "He just doesn't want you to show him up," she whispered to her, making her laugh and beam and hug her as well. She knew she always liked Angel best.

"Like it's meant to be flown!" the Doctor cheered, "We've got the Torchwood Rift looped around the TARDIS by Mr. Smith. We're gonna fly planet Earth back home," he took his place at the head of the console, beaming at Angel as she stood back with Jackie, Donna, and the New Doctor, just watching all their companions, the majority of the people she'd ever helped learn how to fly the TARDIS, actually fly the TARDIS off, "Right, then! Off we go!" he pulled a lever and off they went, literally pulling the Earth home behind them.

~8~

All across the world, people held on as the planet was moved once more.

~8~

The TARDIS was hardly shaking as the Doctor and the humans worked in tandem with each other, Angel and Jackie standing back, watching, while the New Doctor and Donna strolled around the console, watching them work.

"Rose," the Doctor pointed to a button.

Jack pumped a lever as Martha grinned excitedly, Sarah Jane pushing a lever down slowly.

"That's really good, Jack," Donna grinned, "I think you're the best," she continued walking around till she stopped next to Angel, linking her arm with her now non-ginger sister, squeezing it, so thankful Angel was alive.

"So," Angel smiled at Donna, "Am I still a member of Gingers United?"

Donna laughed, "As long as you keep that boa you are," she nodded, not about to let her co-founder leave the group just because her hair wasn't ginger anymore. It had been ginger when it counted and Angel would always be ginger in her heart.

The TARDIS slowed as the Earth was moved back in place, everyone cheering and whooping, hugging all around.

~8~

People wandered from their houses and looked around, cheering as they saw daylight again, no planets in the sky.

~8~

The TARDIS materialized on a nice suburban street as the Doctor, Angel, and Sarah Jane stepped out, looking around. Angel had managed to do a quick clothing change and the Doctor was LOVING her new outfit of choice. She had selected a TARDIS blue, short sleeved tunic style dress that went just an inch or two above her knees. It had a ruffle-trim starting at her round neckline which made it seem more flowy, with a thick black belt around her middle, just a bit higher than her waist, and black cowboy boots that reached her mid-shin. Her black hair was pulled back half up, half down which she assumed the Doctor would love as now her hair was mostly down, just for him to play with. Her hair seemed to have a little bit of curl to it as the ends which hung over her shoulders curled slightly.

She looked just...adorable. And the fact that she was in a dress, which meant he could see her legs, and her hair was down, just...made his day. But nothing made him happier than to see she was still there, at his side, smiling, laughing, and still with him. _Nothing_ in the Universe was better than that.

"You know..." Sarah Jane looked at the Doctor, "You act like such a lonely man. But look at you!" she gestured between him and Angel, "You've got each other and the biggest family on Earth!" the Doctor took Angel's hand and kissed the back of it, smiling as they both pulled Sarah Jane into a fierce hug, "Gotta go!" she pulled away quickly though, "He's only fourteen! It's a long story. And thank you!" they smiled warmly as Sarah Jane waved and dashed off.

~8~

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Donna was saying into her mobile to her family as she and the other humans milled around the TARDIS, waiting for the Doctor and Angel to say their goodbyes to Sarah Jane.

"Are you alright?" Jackie asked Mickey softly.

"I'm gonna miss you," Mickey told her, "More than anyone."

"What do you mean? The Doctor and Angel are gonna take us home, aren't they?"

"But that's the point," Mickey said, glancing at Rose as she spoke with Martha and the New Doctor, Jack speaking to his brother on the monitor.

Jackie nodded, understanding, and hugged him close. She knew what was coming, he'd lost his Pilot once, been trapped away from her twice now, and to reappear and find out that she was dying, that she'd apparently _died_...it hit him harder than he let on. He didn't want to risk that again, to be somewhere else and unable to see her. Looking at the New Doctor, she could tell what was coming, women's intuition, Rose would get her Pilot in a way, but Mickey would be forced to remember he didn't have his if he stayed in the parallel world.

~8~

The Doctor disabled Jack's manipulator with his sonic as they stood outside the TARDIS in Cardiff, "I TOLD you, no teleport. And Martha, get rid of that Osterhagen thing, eh? Save the world one more time."

"Consider it done," Martha smiled.

Jack saluted them as did Martha, Angel laughing as the Doctor exasperatedly saluted back.

"You know I won't settle for that," Angel held out her arms. Martha beamed and stepped forward, hugging Angel tightly, before stepping back and allowing Jack to hug her as well. The man pulled her into a bear hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around, just...SO thankful that she was alive and ok, truly ok, now and not about to die again any time soon if he had anything to say about it.

"I better not have to wait long to give you a hug like that again," he warned her when he set her down, "Alice and Stephen still need to meet you," he eyed her, "Might actually be better to meet them like this than the last time you were there."

"Why?" she frowned, confused as to why her new appearance made a difference.

Jack just grinned, "Doc," he turned to the man, putting his arm around Angel's shoulders and turning her to face the Time Lord with him, "What do you think?" he gestured between them.

The Doctor laughed, "I see the family resemblance now," he nodded.

Angel really _did_ look quite a bit like Jack, same black hair, same striking light eyes, he could swear she might almost have the same ears as the man as well, but...they looked more adorable on Angel. Her eyes weren't quite the blue of Jack's eyes but it was fitting and a bit ironic that her eyes were grey now, given that _Gray_ was also her brother. It was...symbolic in a way.

Angel laughed at that, pleased, "Good, because you are a handsome brother," she smiled at Jack.

He winked back at her, "Means you're a beautiful sister," he hugged her once more, "Don't expect me to start calling you 'Beautiful' instead though, you'll always be my Angie."

She smiled as the Doctor rolled his eyes at that, "Well, she's MY Mate," he said with a triumphant smirk, as though he'd won the greatest prize in the Universe, which none of them would ever dispute.

Jack just laughed and shook his head, him and Martha turning to walk off as the Time Lords waved.

"You know, I'm not sure about UNIT, these days," Jack began to Martha, "Maybe there's something else you could be doing..."

The Doctor smiled...when Mickey burst out of the TARDIS and jogged after them, "Oi!" the Doctor stopped him, "Where are _you_ going?"

"Well, I'm _not_ stupid," Mickey said, smiling, firmly believing that now, "And I don't have to be Angel to work out what happens next," he added with a laugh, "And hey, I had a good time in that parallel world but my Gran passed away. Nice and peaceful. Spent her last years living in a mansion. There's nothing there for me now. Certainly not Rose and that's ok," he nodded, "'Cos there's plenty _here_ for me," he winked at Angel, "I left my Pilot once, well, twice, and _one_ time was too many."

"What will you do?" Angel asked, a knowing glint in her eye as she glanced past him at Martha's retreating back.

"Anything!" Mickey laughed, "Brand new life. Just you watch," he knocked fists with the Doctor, "See you, boss," before hugging Angel, "And you, my Pilot."

She smiled, hugging him tightly back, "My companion, defending the Earth," she pulled back a bit, resting her hands on his shoulders as she beamed up at him, turns out she was just an inch or two shorter than she had been, "I am SO _proud_ of you Mickey Smith."

His gaze softened as he nodded at her, so touched by her praises. She'd told him quite a few times before how proud she was of him, but he'd never believed it more than right then. The time he'd spent in the other world both on his own and with Rose had given him time to grow into the man he was now, but that _never_ would have even begun to happen if he hadn't had Angel's support, the thought of the woman being as proud of him as she was now was always in the back of his mind. Everything he did was to try and make her proud.

And he'd succeeded.

He gave her a smile, "I'd best be seeing you around," he warned her lightly, just as Jack had. She laughed and nodded. He grinned before turning to run after Jack and Martha, "Hey, you two!"

Jack sighed in mock exasperation, "Oh...thought I got rid of you."

Angel laughed as she and the Doctor linked arms and walked back into the TARDIS. The Doctor though, paused before opening the doors, which made Angel look up at him curiously. He just gazed at her softly a moment, reaching out his hand to touch her cheek, stroking it with his scarred knuckles, as he gently traced her face with his eyes, memorizing every new detail about her.

She smiled, realizing what he was doing, and took his hand, kissing his scarred knuckles as she had often done in the past, "New new _new_ Angel," she joked.

He let out a small laugh and leaned in, resting his forehead to hers, "Which means new new new _lips_ that need to be broken in then?"

"Oh yes," she whispered, grinning mischievously as she reached out and tugged his tie out of his coat, biting her bottom lip in a way that made him swallow hard, before she tugged the tie down, moving onto her toes to kiss him in the process.

The Doctor smiled into the kiss as his other hand came up to her neck, gently angling her to deepen his first kiss with his new new new Mate.

~8~

The humans, gathered around the monitor, grinned as the doors to the TARDIS opened quite a few minutes later to see the Time Lords enter.

The Doctor hesitated, seeing them all looking at them, "What?"

But they just smiled and laughed, "Did you forget I can work the monitors?" the New Doctor asked, grinning widely.

"You two are just as sweet as ever," Rose told them, unable to begin to describe how relieved that made her that she could still see traits of the old Angels in the new her.

The Doctor started to blush at that, realizing they'd seen the kiss, before he quickly tugged Angel up to the console, ushering them away from the monitor so they could get to work, "There's time for one last trip," he murmured, trying to change the topic, which only made them laugh more, "Dårlig Ulv Stranden," the New Doctor looked at him, "Better known as…"

~8~

The TARDIS materialized on the sand of a beach. Jackie stepped out first, followed by the New Doctor and Rose, just looking around, "Ugh, fat lot of good this is!" she wrinkled her nose in disgust, "Back of beyond, bloody Norway! I'm gonna have to phone your father," she commented to Rose, before adding to the New Doctor, "He's on the nursery run. I was pregnant, do you remember? Had a baby boy!"

Rose looked around, confused.

"Ah, brilliant!" the New Doctor said as Angel, the Doctor, and Donna stepped out, "What did you call him?"

"Doctor."

He blinked, "...really?"

"No, you plum. He's called Tony!"

"Hold on, this is the parallel Universe, right?" Rose looked around.

"You're back home," the Doctor agreed.

"And the walls of the world are closing again..." Donna nodded, "Now that the Reality Bomb never happened."

"Dimension retroclosure," Angel agreed, which made the Doctor beam, it seemed she was more confident about talking of things beyond the TARDIS as well, even though that really had quite a bit to do with the old box.

"No, but I spent all that time trying to find you, to warn you, I thought..." Rose turned to the Doctor and Angel, in tears, "I thought I could _stay_..."

"I'm so sorry Rose," Angel stepped forward, taking Rose's hands in her own, "But...THIS Universe needs you. What we did, how the Daleks were stopped...it came at a cost," she glanced at the New Doctor, "Him."

"He destroyed the Daleks," the Doctor said as Rose looked back at the New Doctor, "He committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own."

He didn't have to add, though they all knew, that the Doctor wouldn't risk him in their original Universe, because HE wouldn't be able to keep a proper eye on himself. He knew how he was. He knew Angel could see quite a bit, but not everything. She had her hands full just trying to keep HIM safe, let alone two of him. And with Rose there she'd be worrying about the girl as well and, before they knew it, she'd miss something.

He knew, the other him...he knew how he felt, why he'd done that, how he'd reacted...it was just like his last self would have. And, as much as he knew that Angel had helped him heal from the War, Rose had helped too. The other him...he already saw it, bits of Angel in him, he had THAT part of the equation, but he'd need Rose as well. And they could NOT let Rose leave her family again. That little boy, that Tony, he'd need his big sister.

Angel understood that better than anyone.

"You _made_ me!" the New Doctor shouted, angry and upset.

"Exactly, you were born in battle, full of blood and anger and revenge," the Doctor looked at Rose, "Remind you of someone? That's me. When we first met. And you made me better. And now you can do the same for him."

Rose shook her head, "But Angel helped. It wasn't just me."

"He's a bit like me," Angel remarked, "The metacrisis jumbled up everything. He got a taste of my intuition, my personality. He just needs _you_ to complete the equation," she smiled softly, "It'll be like having the two of us here with you."

"But he's not _you_ ," Rose looked between them.

"He needs you," the Doctor shook his head as he put his arm around Angel's shoulders, "That's _very_ us."

Angel smiled, "A very wise ginger woman once told us that, sometimes, we need someone," she nudged Donna, "And she was right," she looked at Rose again, "He needs someone Rose, he needs _you_."

"But it's better than that, though," Donna continued, "Don't you see what they're trying to give you?" she looked at the New Doctor, "Tell her, go on."

Rose looked at the New Doctor questioningly, "I look like him and I think like him and I act like her and feel things like her..." he began, "I've got the same memories, same thoughts, same everything plus a little more," he smiled, "And a little less, I've only got one heart."

"Which means?" she shook her head.

"I'm part human. Specifically the aging part. I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life...Rose Tyler. I could spend it with you. If you want."

"You'll grow…grow old at the same time as me?" Rose asked. That had been one of her biggest concerns, that she'd travel the Universe with her best friend and her sister, the two of them looking like they always did while she shriveled up into an old lady.

"Together," he nodded, reaching out to take her hand.

The TARDIS grinded.

"We have to go," Angel said quietly, "This reality's about to seal itself off," she looked at Rose, "Goodbye Rose," she pulled the woman to her, hugging her tightly, doing what she had _wished_ she could do the last time they'd stood on that beach.

"Goodbye Angel," Rose cried, tears falling down her face as she hugged her surrogate big sister.

"Goodbye Rose," the Doctor added, hugging her as well, lifting her off the ground a moment.

"Bye Doctor," Rose sniffled.

They smiled at her, turning and walking back to the TARDIS as Rose took the New Doctor's hand once more, willing to give him a chance, already seeing her friends in him, and possibly a little bit more.

She had seen the way the man looked at Angel, with fondness but...none of the sparkle that the Doctor usually did. It was like...Angel was important to him, but the fact that a bit of her had ended up in him made them more familial than Mates. It was like he knew that _the Doctor_ was Angel's Mate, not HIS, and that he was ok with that. So...perhaps...maybe...there might be a little something more. She didn't know, but whatever the future held...at least she'd have the two most important people there with her in a way.

They stood there, hands gripped tight, and watched as the blue box disappeared.

~8~

"So what about you Donna?" Angel asked as she and the Doctor puttered around the console, Donna sitting on the captain's chair, watching them, silent, far more silent than they had ever heard the woman.

"Where would you like to go?" the Doctor looked at her.

Donna took a breath, "I think…I think I'd like to go home."

The Doctor and Angel could only look down sadly, knowing this was NOT the same thing as when they'd stopped the Sontarans, this...this wasn't going to be just a trip home.

"It's just…I've seen so many amazing things," she explained, tears coming to her eyes to have to do this, "And some truly terrible things. Met great people, got some great exercise," she laughed a bit, making them smile, "And all this just now, it made me realize what I truly want. 'Cos if I was on Earth, I would have been terrified out of my mind with what happened, but...I'd have been with my family. And that's what it boils down to in the end doesn't it? Family," Angel and the Doctor nodded, "And anyway I made a promise once to go out there and see the stars, and then bring them home. And...I think it's time."

Angel walked over to the ginger as she stood up, and hugged her tightly, "You're gonna be _brilliant_ Donna, absolutely brilliant."

"Is that a feeling?" Donna asked, hugging her back.

"No," Angel pulled back with a smile, she could feel it again, not just the Vortex, but that sensation the New Doctor had described, that tingling on the edge of her senses, her feelings, her visions, she knew...were back, but this was something more than any old vision, "It's 'cos I know you. And I KNOW my big sister'll be just fantastic!"

"There's never been a Human-Time Lord metacrisis before now," the Doctor commented, walking over, eyeing Donna with a smile, "That just makes you all the more special," he hugged her as well.

It had been so lucky Angel had grabbed her when she had. The presence of a Time Lady, of Time Lord DNA being there, had practically sucked that quality of the regeneration energy out of the metacrisis. It had made it safer for Donna, had damaged Angel worse than before the TARDIS had been dropped through the trapdoor, but...she'd regenerated and healed from that. And now, Donna was safe, she hadn't gotten anything that could drastically affect her health in the long run, but...she still got a bit of them as well, like how the New Doctor had gotten a bit of Angel too.

"I can see it though," Angel added, "Donna Noble, Supertemp, the most amazing woman on planet Earth."

Donna laughed as the Doctor pulled back, "We had the best of times. The best."

"Yeah," Donna nodded, tears falling down her face, "We did."

~8~

The Doctor, Donna, and Angel sat before Wilf and Sylvia on the sofa, explaining what had happened to the Earth with the planets and the Daleks and all. They'd also told them about what happened with the New Doctor and Angel in relation to Donna so they wouldn't be surprised by any sudden changes in her personality. Already they could see a confidence in Donna, how much straighter she sat, how much more she carried herself. This was a driven Donna Noble.

"She took a chunk of my personality into her," the Doctor explained, "And even a tiny bit of my mind. Before you know it, she'll be walking around spouting facts about everything and just swaggering away."

"Let's hope it doesn't get _that_ far," Donna laughed, though a part of her wouldn't mind that so much.

"I'm not saying a word," Angel buttoned her lips with a grin, never before had she ever thought she'd be as happy to get one of her 'feelings' as she was right now.

The Doctor looked at Donna proudly, "You know, there are worlds out there, safe in the sky, because of you. There are people living in the light, singing songs of Donna Noble, a thousand million light-years away...they will _never_ forget you."

"And neither will we," Angel promised, " _Ever_. You saved me Donna. Because of you, the Daleks were destroyed, the planets were restored, and the whole of creation is safe. If it hadn't been for you, for your humanity, I never would have been able to fully absorb the Vortex, to help stop the Daleks," she nudged her, "I told you, _you_ were the most important woman in the whole wide Universe."

"She still is," Sylvia said quietly, "She's my daughter."

Angel smiled softly, she could tell, Donna and her mother would have a _much_ better relationship now.

"We should head out now," the Doctor said slowly, standing, as did Angel, before looking down at Donna, "We'll see you again."

"If I'm lucky," Donna smiled, recalling their last few words when she'd met them.

Angel laughed as the Doctor stepped over to her, putting his arm around her waist as they headed out of the house. They looked out at the dark weather, the rain and thunder and just...laughed, "You'll have quite a bit of this," the Doctor told Wilf as he escorted them out, letting Donna and her mother have a moment, "Atmospheric disturbance. Still, it'll pass. Everything does."

"Goodbye Wilf," Angel smiled, turning and hugging the man, giving him a kiss on the cheek as the Doctor shook his hand.

"What about you, now?" Wilf called as they stepped into the rain, not even minding it, actually seeming to enjoy it, "Who've you got? I mean, all those friends of yours..."

"They've all got someone else," the Doctor shrugged.

"And we've got each other," Angel added, squeezing him a bit as she took his hand again.

"I'll watch out for you," Wilf promised, "Every night...when it gets dark...and the stars come out...I'll look up. And I'm sure Donna will too. We'll look up at the sky and think of you."

"Thank you," the Doctor breathed before he and Angel turned and ran back to the TARDIS, only for the Doctor to pull her back halfway there. He wound his arms around her from behind and lifted her up, spinning her around as she squealed and laughed. He set her down and spun her to him, just looking at her beaming up at him, her eyes shining, and kissed her in the rain, starting to sway a bit as he did so...till he dipped her to the side, making her laugh, before pulling her up and dancing her over to the doors, both of them loving the moment, loving being able to do something they hadn't done in a while.

They ran in as soon as they were at the doors, the Doctor taking off his sopping jacket with a slight laugh before he tossed it over a Y-beam, Angel wringing out her hair, and walked up to the console with her. They looked at the rotor for a moment, the Doctor taking her hand as they observed before they shot each other a grin and rushed to the controls and setting off.

Next stop…everywhere…

To be continued...in...Mated Souls!

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (quite a few notes to come but...) 
> 
> AHHH! Angel's alive! I hope it made sense why she lived and why she WON'T be dying again in the next series here. It made more sense in my head so I tried to get it across in the story. She snapped back, and died the same way, but on the Valiant she would have just died because the only future she had was to be sick and dying again. HERE when she died, the TARDIS was fine and the future was fine too...if that makes sense...I hope it also made sense why Donna chose to leave and stay with her family again.
> 
> But anyway...we get a New New New Angel :) I DID bring Angel back ;) Which means we get the 10-specials next Sunday! (and judging by the title of the next story, I bet you can guess what happens ;) especially now that the Doctor knows about the Vortex).
> 
> Just for a reference for the next series, I picture Angel to look something like Rachel Weisz and with a new theme of For Love and Honor by Future World Music :) We'll definitely see much more of her personality coming out in the next story :) I hope you'll all like the new new new Angel :)
> 
> I know Angel's not ginger again. But I set my Time Ladies up in a way where they won't get the same hair color twice of the ones we read about :) Angel has been blonde, ginger, and now has black hair, which means she won't have those hair colors again. But, I really wanted her to have black hair just because I wanted to really bring up her relationship to Jack, that and her similar relationship with Rory will play a BIG role in this incarnation of her :) I had mentioned that her hair color would be important when it came to the story line, blonde being Rose, ginger being Donna, and...since we don't get the ginger Amy for a while...black for Jack :) ...or is there something more to her hair color this time? Hmmm... }:) I can say there's more to Donna than the Time Lords think as a result of the metacrisis, but we'll have to wait and see just what. Remember, meta-10 got Donna and Angel, Angel got Donna and a little bit of the Doctor...Donna seems to have only got the Doctor...but that's SO wrong }:)
> 
> And...surprise! We're going to get 1 additional chapter that will explore a 'what if' version of this one, where we see what would have happened IF Angel HAD died :'( 
> 
> Now, final note, I really want to thank you guys, thank anyone who has read/reviewed/favorited/followed/glanced at/anything else this story. It really means so much to me :)


	48. Journey's End: The End (Alternate Ending)

"9...8...7...6..."

They all looked over as the reality bomb shut off, the screen of the planets turning black as an alarm went off.

"Was that right?" Donna called as she pulled herself up from hiding behind the control panel she'd fallen against, "I think it was, was it?" she looked at the Doctor as she hit a button or two, not really sure what to do or why but just…going with it. Something in her gut telling her which ones to push, "To close all the Z-Neutrino relay loops?"

"Using an internalized synchronous back-feed reversal loop?" the Doctor stared at her as she hit a switch, "How do you even know that? Donna, you can't even change a plug!"

Donna looked at him, just a bit alarmed because, she DIDN'T know how she knew that, "I don't know."

"You will suffer for this…" Davros spat, lifting his arm to fire at her again.

Donna jolted forward and hit a button, and suddenly Davros's arm was electrified.

"Was that a bioelectric dampening field with a retrogressive arc inversion?" the New Doctor called.

"I think so?" she guessed.

"Exterminate her!" Davros shouted.

"Exterminate!" the Daleks turned on her, "Exterminate!" Donna lunged forwards, pressing what buttons she could, frantic, till the Daleks lowered their weapons and began to twitch, "Weapons non-functional!"

"And that's a macro-transmission of a K-filter wavelength!" the Doctor stared at her.

"Blocking Dalek weaponry in a self-replicating energy blindfold matrix," the New Doctor nodded.

"How did you work that out? You..."

"Time Lord," the New Doctor swallowed hard, recalling how Donna was doing it but why she didn't seem to know how she was, "Part Time Lord."

"Part Human!" Donna faltered, having been about to say she was part Doctor, part Donna, with a sprinkle of Angel. Oh God…Angel…she looked at the TARDIS, able to see inside it from the door she'd left open. Angel was lying there…unmoving…oh no…

She wasn't even breathing.

There was no sign of that orange regeneration energy either!

No!

She had to get the Doctor out of there, he had to do something, save Angel! She hit a button and the lights around the prisoners turned off, "Doctor…" she looked at him.

He seemed to snap out of his stunned silence, but not for the reason Donna hoped. It seemed the man was trusting that Angel was ok, that she was safe in the TARDIS, for he ran over to her, helping to get the controls working with the New Doctor. She eyed the man as the New Doctor stood in the path of the TARDIS, blocking the Doctor's sight of it. And she swallowed, he knew, had to have known that Angel had died. He was a doctor, of course he would have known how much time she'd have.

"Stop them!" Davros cried, "Get them away from the controls!"

"Ha!" the New Doctor laughed as the Daleks turned on them, hitting a button, having quiet a bit of fun making them spin in circles.

"Help me!" the Daleks shouted, helpless, "Help me."

"And...the other way!" he twisted a knob again and they went in two different directions, their upper and lower halves.

"What did you do?" the Doctor looked at him.

"Trip-stitch circuit-breaker in the psycho-kinetic threshold manipulator."

"Can you stop messing around?" he snapped, fun and games were all well and good but he needed to hurry, he had to get back to Angel.

"No need to shout."

"I bloody well will shout," he glared, "We need to send the planets back and stop the Daleks before Angel…" he trailed off, seeing his other self and Donna suddenly go silent, a solemn look on his face, tears appearing in Donna's eyes, "Where is she?" he asked, his voice starting to shake, feeling his body trembling, knowing what the only thing that could upset Donna so much would be, Angel, "What happened to her?" but they were quiet, "ANSWER ME!"

Donna winced as the New Doctor looked down, "She…" he swallowed, shaking his head as he bowed it, moving to the side so the Doctor could see Angel lying there…

Donna's heart broke at the expression on the Doctor's face, she didn't have to be Angel, either psychic or Mated to the man, to know what he was feeling, his expression gave it all away.

For the Doctor, though, it was _so much worse_.

The world went mute, the shouting of the Daleks, of Davros, the noise of it all…faded. It was just…gone as he stared at Angel's prone form, so close yet so far away. He couldn't breathe, he felt his chest constricting painfully at that sensation, at him not breathing, but his mind didn't register the true weight of it. He was shaking, he knew, he could feel his hands trembling on the controls he was still gripping, his knuckles turning white, the scarred knuckles Angel always kissed straining and stretched from his grip. He felt numb, he felt cold, he felt...empty. The world around him dimmed, becoming fuzzy in his vision, the only thing sharp any longer was Angel, the only thing he could see was her, lying there, without him, not glowing orange, not getting up, not moving or breathing...

He heard nothing, he saw nothing, nothing but Angel...gone.

She was gone.

She was dead.

And he hadn't been there.

He'd promised, he'd _sworn_ that he would be there for her, that she wouldn't die alone.

And he'd broken it.

His vision of her blurred as he felt tears come to his eyes, hatred enter him, a dark, deep desire to wipe out the Daleks. It was THEIR fault he had been trapped away from his Mate. If they had just let him alone, he'd be with her, if they hadn't trapped him, he'd have been at her side. It was truly crushing the sorrow racing through him. He'd thought she'd died, burned to death in the TARDIS when it had disappeared, to see the box again, to have his hope renewed that there was still time...and then lose it once more...

Well that was his life wasn't it? That was his life before Angel and would be his life without her. Hopeless.

His world would be forever dark, dim, cold, lonely. It didn't matter that he had his companions around him, it didn't matter that the TARDIS was still alive, _nothing_ _mattered_.

Because Angel wasn't there.

He'd once described her as the light in his darkness...and now it had been snuffed.

He closed his eyes, taking one single deep breath, before he immediately got to work, "Send the planets back," he ordered Donna and the New Doctor, a hint of a growl in his voice, "Now!"

His companions were there, yes, but they weren't his companions any longer. He didn't want them. He didn't want any of them. He just wanted Angel. But...despite that...they were still HER family. Her younger sister was there, with her older brother, her older sister, her best friend, her first companion, and even Sarah Jane he knew she had a fondness for...

If it was the last thing he did, he'd see them safely back where they belonged, on Earth, returned to where it should be, with the other planets too because Angel didn't like anyone to suffer, she wouldn't want the peoples of those other worlds to be scared, not even the residents of Clom or Pyrovillia.

This would be for her.

He would do this for her.

And then...

He'd find her again.

He barely registered Jack grabbing his large gun from the TARDIS along with Rose's, tossing it to Mickey, the two of them defending him from Davros as he worked, barely heard Sarah Jane and Martha and Rose asking what had happened, heard nothing of Donna and the New Doctor telling them what happened, was even deaf to their startled cries as they did the one thing he wanted to do but knew he wouldn't be able to bear doing...ran into the TARDIS and to Angel's side, holding her.

He _couldn't_.

He would break if he stepped into the TARDIS. He wanted to gather her in his arms, but...to feel her cold, unmoving, to not feel her hearts beating for him...would _shatter_ him. And he needed to be whole enough to do what was coming next.

"Clom's off," the New Doctor reported, glancing at his original self as he was silent, not even acknowledging that he'd heard him, "And Adipose Three."

"Shallacatop," Donna added quietly, eyeing the Doctor in concern, he'd never been so silent before, "Pyrovillia, the Lost Moon of Poosh..."

But there was nothing, the Doctor just worked tirelessly.

The New Doctor stared at him, the man not wasting any time with chat, needing to send the last planet, Earth, home. He could see it in his eyes, the darkness that was held at bay by Angel's mere presence returned fully blown, all consuming. And he realized...the Doctor was lost.

And when the Doctor was lost, when he was in that dark place he went to when his Mate was harmed...without Angel there...there was _no_ coming back.

He swallowed hard, feeling something stir in his stomach, and he knew, he just KNEW, what the Doctor was going to do next, "Earth," he finished, pulling a lever.

The Doctor stopped typing for only a moment, "Get them out of here," he ordered his human self.

The New Doctor didn't even have to ask who he was talking about as he turned and grabbed Donna, pulling her off with a cry of, "Jack! Mickey! With me!" running towards the TARDIS where the other women were.

The Doctor stood rigid for a moment, before typing again, oddly enough not bothering to ask the Daleks what had happened, how all the coincidence of Donna arose, not even curious. Why would he be? He didn't care. Whether or not Caan foresaw this, or helped, or betrayed the Daleks, he didn't care what was being shouted behind him...

It didn't matter.

Because with or without a Reality Bomb, the Dalek Empire was big enough to slaughter the cosmos.

And Angel loved the Universe, the guardian angel of it she was.

He winced, she WAS.

He could do this for her, he _would_ do this for her, he would make sure that the Universe was safe from the Daleks, for her.

He only looked up for one brief moment, looking at the TARDIS, at those gathered in it, everyone was inside with Angel, crying and upset, the New Doctor at the doors looking at _him_ , solemn. The New Doctor didn't bother to speak, to try and change his mind, to try and argue that he should come into the TARDIS. Because he knew, he was him, he _knew_ what he was capable of when he'd reached his limit, reached his end.

He nodded at the man.

The New Doctor swallowed but nodded back, and shut the doors of the TARDIS.

He stared, watching as the blue box faded away, before he looked back at the controls, "Maximizing Dalekanium power feeds…" he muttered and hit a button...not even wincing as the Daleks exploded behind him, screaming in agony as they died.

Had Angel screamed when she died? Had the pain gotten to be too much? Or had she been strong, like she always was, and contained it, bit her lip and tried to smile so he wouldn't have known how terribly she felt? Or had she passed peacefully?

He didn't know.

He would _never_ know.

And regardless of how she had passed...he would make the Daleks suffered for ensuring he couldn't be there with her.

He spun around as Davros began to cry out for his beloved children, the ship exploding around them from the detonations of the Daleks, "Never forget, Doctor, YOU did this! I name YOU, forever, YOU are the Destroyer of Worlds!"

The Doctor smiled, "I know," and pulled out the sonic, flashing it at the controls and holding it up, ready to activate it once more.

"You would not dare!" Davros screamed, knowing that one single sonic pulse to the adjustments he'd made in the controls would turn the entire Crucible into a bomb, "You would not end your life, the man who runs from death!"

"You Daleks," he just shook his head, seeming far, FAR too calm, worryingly calm, for someone about to blow a ship up with him still in it, "You underestimate everything. Humans, me, love..."

"Love is a weakness!"

"No," he shook his head, his smile growing soft, "It's the one, never-ending, source of strength in the Universe. No one has ever loved another as much as I do Angel," he looked at the sonic as he held it up more, "And this...this is how I'll see her again."

And with that...

He flicked it on.

~8~

The TARDIS shook violently as it flew off, away from the Crucible as it exploded, all the occupants silent, closing their eyes as they mourned, knowing what had happened, knowing who else had been lost. They all gathered together, holding each other close, not only had they lost Angel, but the Doctor too.

That man, he would NEVER leave his Mate, not even in death.

And the Universe seemed just a little more of a cold, hard, dangerous place as a result.

The TARDIS let out a pained groan, like a sick grinding noise, that pulled all their attention up.

"We need to hurry," the New Doctor said quietly, "I'm sorry," he looked at them, knowing they needed time to mourn, "Donna and I," he looked at her, "We got enough of the Doctor and Angel to keep this old box going a little while longer, but...we need to get you home," he looked at the humans, "And we need to get you back to Pete's World," he added to Rose.

Rose just swallowed, not arguing. There was no point anymore, was there? She'd come back to warn the Doctor and Angel, maybe to stay with them, but...they were gone, they were both gone and...she didn't want to be in the same Universe they died in. At least she had a way out, the others...they couldn't come with her, they couldn't live in a Universe where there was already a version of them.

She'd discovered that during her time in the parallel world, the reason why she and her mother and Mickey could last there without the world falling out of balance. If there were two versions of them, it would be too much, the world would be unbalanced. There had never been a Rose Tyler, save for the puppy who had sadly died during the first Cybermen attack, Jackie and Ricky had died as well which left a void for their replacements in her mum and Mickey, but also left them the option of leaving if they wanted as 'they' had died in that world so if they disappeared from it, the world would would still be balanced.

She got up and moved over to the New Doctor as he just stared at the rotor, unmoving despite his words, "What can we do to help?" she asked, taking his hand.

He looked down at her and just gave a sad smile, moving her to the console, setting her up before a lever and quietly explaining what it did and what she needed to do with it, before moving the others around as well, Rose, Sarah Jane, Mickey, Jack, Martha, Donna, and him. Jackie beside Angel, pulling her own jacket off to rest over the woman's body and face, tears in her eyes as she stared at the girl.

All the stories Rose had told her, made her feel like the girl really WAS her daughter and not just Rose's sister. And now she'd lost her. And so, she just sat there with Angel, holding her hand as the others piloted the TARDIS off.

~8~

They'd only made one stop on Earth, Torchwood, as they didn't think the box would last multiple trips to UNIT or Sarah Jane's house or Donna's home...they had to pick only one, and Torchwood was it, they would have the resources to get the others back home and...despite UNIT having had the Doctor work for them for so long...Torchwood felt more like where Angel would want to be than them, having met the small team, having saved them and become like a member of their family, more so than just as Jack's little sister.

It was fitting, UNIT had the Doctor, Torchwood had Angel.

The box was struggling to keep going though, but they couldn't leave and the box seemed about to fight them all tooth and nail to stay because the New Doctor and Rose and her family HAD to be there, had to stay with Torchwood just a little longer, for respect and to honor Angel.

The team had been devastated.

They'd stepped out of the TARDIS, all of them, to see the Torchwood team run out the doors as the sun just started its path to set, wide grins on their faces at having survived, at having the Earth returned, at having the Daleks destroyed...only to stop short at the sight before them.

Jack, standing there, with an umoving Angel in his arms, tears in his eyes and a devastated look on his face, matching, and quite a bit worse than, the solemn faces of those around him.

All he'd said was that they needed to build a pyre.

And so they had.

All of them knew how special Time Lords were, their body's natural abilities. They knew so many people would be after them, try to study Angel, dissect her, tear her apart to try and learn what made her tick, not just humans but aliens as well, and they REFUSED to see that happen to her. So Martha and Jack had explained that Time Lords, if killed before regeneration could set in, were burned, as the Doctor and Angel had done with the Master, like the Doctor had done for himself.

It was a small pyre, compared to the Master's, but it was just so Angel, she wouldn't have wanted anything extravagant, despite the fact that she would have deserved it. And she wouldn't have wanted a public spectacle, so it had been done just behind Torchwood, the bay in the background, at sunset, which was fitting. They had all come to share the Doctor's view that Angel was just a big old ray of sunshine in the dark, and, as the sun set and the daylight went out, so should Angel.

Jack hadn't been able to bring himself to light the pyre, just standing there as she laid on top of it, despite her being wrapped in a shroud they could all see _Angel_ lying there. He'd held the lit torch, tears in his eyes reflecting the flickering light, no one urging him to do it, none of them wanting to believe Angel was truly gone, they still couldn't believe the Doctor was gone either.

It was like...if they just waited long enough, the Doctor would saunter out of the TARDIS with a wide grin and come up with some scientific ramble about how Angel would be fine. It was too sudden, how he'd died, in a single instant, in that explosion, he was gone. They couldn't process it, it was just _too fast_.

But with Angel, they were struggling. Because she was _there_ , her _body_ was there, and...to light that pyre...meant it was over. It meant she was really gone, it meant the Doctor was really gone as well.

Mickey took a breath, steeling himself, and gently took the torch from Jack, knowing the man must have been relieved to not have to be the one to light the pyre, to signal the official end of Angel's long lives. She hadn't even made it to 800 years old. Mickey approached the pyre, looking at the shroud a moment, before offering it a small, sad smile. Angel had made him a strong man, Angel had truly marked the start of his life as a real man, with her faith in him. She had done everything for him, he could do this for her, he could make sure she was never ever used or hurt ever again.

He looked down at the bottom of the pyre where some kindling had been set to start it, and lowered the torch...

He stepped back as the fire caught, leaving the torch with the pyre, and moved to the line of humans gathered around it in a semi circle, all of them just staring as the flames grew higher. He looked over as he heard a muffled sob and saw Martha Jones, the woman he'd been investigating, close her eyes tightly and try not to cry, try to be as strong as Angel always was. He reached out and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly as she cried, others seeming to follow her lead. Donna stood beside Jack, his arm around her, his other arm around Ianto's shoulders. Sarah Jane and Rose stood with their arms linked tightly, Jackie rubbing Rose's back as she cried silently for her sister. Gwen stood stoically with Rhys beside her, though there were tears in her eyes as well as she clutched Rhys hand, Tosh openly crying on Owen's shoulder as he held her, rubbing her back as he tried to whisper calming words in her ear.

"It's fitting, isn't it?" Jack had to murmur.

"What?" Mickey swallowed, looking over.

"It's pitch black out," Jack began to smile, sunset had happened quickly it seemed, and now, with the flames growing, it was night officially.

"What of it?" Jackie asked.

Jack let out a little laugh, "She's still the light in the dark."

They looked over and couldn't help but smile, it was true. It was dark all around them yet Angel, her pyre, was providing light and warmth.

It really _was_ fitting.

~8~

It had been difficult, for the small group of time travelers to cope, to move on from the death of their beloved Doctor and shining Angel, but if there was one thing to be said it was that travelling with the Doctor had made them stronger and knowing Angel had made them closer. In everything they did from that night on, Angel and the Doctor were always in their thoughts and actions.

Donna had joined Torchwood, moved out to Cardiff to help protect the Earth. It seemed she really _had_ gotten a sprinkle of Angel, she'd been able to almost sense things now. She was truly an asset to the team, with a hint of the Doctor's mind and Angel's intuition, she would often lead the team exactly where they had to go, sense a danger looming or a trap set and warn them, and even help out with some alien tech. Oh she loved spending time with Tosh and Gwen though, Tosh was excited that someone else seemed to understand what she talked about when she got excited about new software or a new program, and loved teaching Donna things she wasn't sure of. Gwen had loved her sass and cheek, claiming it was great to _finally_ have an even number of men and women, no more being overruled by Jack, Ianto, and Owen with Donna there. Owen found her amusing, how she put Jack in his place, almost acting like an older sister to him as well. And she LOVED teasing Ianto and Jack about their blooming relationship, claiming Angel would want them to have a healthy dose of teasing and love. She'd explained to her mother and grandfather, with some help from Jack, about what she was planning to do with her life.

No more temping, but fighting and hunting aliens.

Her mother had fainted...and then ranted about how no daughter of hers was going to go off and fight deadly aliens, showing her love and concern and worry for her daughter. Her grandfather had applauded her and encouraged her. But they had both quieted when she explained WHY she wanted to do it, what had happened to the Doctor and Angel that made her feel like she needed to step up, take responsibility, and do what she could to keep the Earth safe. It was something the Time Lords would have done and had always done. And so, to honor them, she would do it too. Her mother hadn't been able to counter that when Jack explained what the New Doctor had told them of the metacrisis, how Donna could have very easily died if not for Angel using the last of her strength to save her.

Martha and Mickey had done much the same, Mickey deciding to stay in their Universe instead of Pete's World. Something had happened between him and Martha during Angel's funeral, an understanding had been reached, both of them hurt in the same way for Angel, in a different way than the others. Mickey had decided to stay for _her_ , Martha knew, and so she'd introduced him to UNIT, he'd been hired on the spot as soon as the words 'Colonel Mace, meet Mickey Smith, Angel's companion...' had come out of her mouth. Mickey had been surprised that UNIT would have so much faith in him just from that but he'd found himself ready to prove their faith was justified. Angel had taught him that, to not let others down, and that, in just trying your best, you could _never_ let another down. They were often paired together, both having been someone important to Angel, both having much the same experiences. They'd bonded during that time, and everyone knew they would wed one day.

Sarah Jane had returned home, to her son Luke, and his friends, more determined than ever to defend the Earth. It was surprising how much more seriously one took something when suddenly the front line of defense instead of picking up what slipped through the cracks. Knowing the Doctor and Angel wouldn't ever be showing up just in time again, had made them _all_ more cautious, more serious, more investigative. And it had made her appreciate her son and his friends all the more. Speaking with Martha and Donna and Jack and Rose had made her realize that Angel looked at them all as family, even her, and that she had been so strong and hung on so long for them. Everything that girl had done, everything she'd sacrificed, had been to protect her family. It had made her live each and every day with her son to the fullest, treasure every achievement, and brought them all the more closer for it.

Rose had kept true to her promise and left to go to Pete's World with her mother and the New Doctor. She couldn't bear to be in a Universe that had once had the Doctor and Angel but didn't any longer. The New Doctor had gone with her, claiming that THIS Earth would be protected, with UNIT and Torchwood and their new additions, but Pete's World would need something...more. The effects of the Crucible had been felt first in _that_ world and so, if anything happened like that again, HE would better be able to determine what it was and help stop it, hopefully without having to build another Dimension Cannon. Rose had been both happy and sad that he'd volunteered to go with her. Sad because he looked so much like the Doctor and acted like both him and Angel and it was just a never-ending reminder that they weren't there anymore. But also happy because, in a way, it was like they were living on through him. She didn't know what the future might hold for her and the New Doctor, but she was a bit excited to see what it was, even if it meant the adventures were on Earth and not throughout the stars.

The TARDIS had done as always threatened by the Doctor, as soon as they had stepped out onto the beach in Parallel Norway, the box had just...shut down. The lights had gone dark and the power shut off, the doors locking behind them. But what had really shocked Rose, was that...the outside of the TARDIS had faded, become rock, just like the rocks around it. The New Doctor had just laughed and said 'Angel.' Apparently she HAD fixed the Chameleon Circuit, but on for the event of the TARDIS 'dying.' When the box shut down, officially and forever, she didn't want anyone to find it and disrespect the box's final resting place, so she'd rigged it to blend into the surroundings enough to not be bothered.

The Earth, the Earth of Martha and Mickey and Donna and Jack, was a safer place. It had its dangers, yes, but every challenge, every threat posed to the Earth, was met with fierce resistence from three sides, UNIT, Torchwood, and the Smiths. And _every_ enemy who _dared_ try and harm the humans was sent packing from their combined efforts. Between Donna and her intuition, UNIT and their army, and Mr. Smith and his databases, nothing that came to Earth for a hostile purpose lasted very long, not even when the 456 or the Master returned.

They fought on, all of them, in the memory of the Doctor and Angel, carrying on the legacy of their Time Lords.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :'( I had a small scene at the end, like...ghosts of the Doctor/Angel watching over them and just so proud, but I felt that was a bit too much and too clichéd and I thought this was a good place to end :) So, this was the Alternate Ending to Journey's End, where Angel did not survive. I wanted to show the aftereffect of her death on the Doctor, but also on her family and on the future. I hope it was believable how the Earth might still be safe without the Time Lords there, between ALL of them working together, with hints of the Doctor and Angel among them, that I think they might do a pretty good job of it no matter what popped up along the way :)
> 
> Still so sad for the Doctor and Angel though :( I'm really glad I went with the other ending :)


End file.
